Available online 15 November 2023

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We describe and compare the prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors and ideal cardiovascular health (CVH) among Puerto Rican young adults in the San Juan metro area in Puerto Rico and the South Bronx, NY. As part of the Boricua Youth Study – Health Assessment, (mean age 23±0.1 years) objective anthropometric, blood pressure and blood samples were collected. Information on diet, physical activity and sleep were collected via surveys. Life’s Essential 8 metrics were characterized as continuous with higher scores indicating more optimal CVH and categorically (80-100 scores for ideal CVH). Mean CVH score among NY participants was lower (61.9) than in PR (68.9). No participant had all ideal health metrics, 36% of participants in PR had 5 or more ideal CVH; while only 16% in NY met this criterion. The prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors was high for obesity (35% in NY, 19% in PR) and diabetes (17% NY, 20% PR). In this ethnically homogenous population, we found low levels of ideal CVH that varied across study site, suggesting differences by sociocultural context. Interventions to maintain and improve CVH across the life course, tailored to sociocultural environments, are necessary for the prevention of cardiovascular disease.

Section snippetsBACKGROUND

Cardiovascular diseases are a leading cause of mortality [1] among Hispanic/Latinx adults, the largest ethnically minoritized group in the United States (US).[2] Hispanic/Latinx individuals however, are not a homogenous group. Puerto Rican adult men and women, living in the continental US, have higher rates of obesity, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia compared to other Latino subgroups.[1] Understanding the prevalence of cardiometabolic risk among the Puerto Rican subgroup can inform

METHODS

The BYS-HA is part of the BYS, a longitudinal study of multistage probability household samples representative of two target populations, the South Bronx in NY and the Standard Metropolitan Areas (SMA) in San Juan and Caguas, Puerto Rico. A household was eligible for the study if: (1) there was at least one child residing in the household aged 5 through 13 years and identified by the family as being of Puerto Rican background; and (2) at least one of the child’s parents or primary caretakers

Sample Characteristics

In this sample of 759 participants, 413 of the participants lived in Puerto Rico with 346 in the South Bronx NY. The mean age of participants was 22.6 years and 50% were female (Table 1). Twenty-seven percent of the sample received public assistance in young adulthood. Overall, there was a high prevalence of obesity and high HBA1C (≥5.7) with noted differences across study site. Participants in NY had a higher prevalence of obesity (35% in NY and 19% in PR) and hypertension (8% in NY and 2% in

DISCUSSION

In this sample of Puerto Rican young adults living in two different sociocultural contexts we note a high prevalence of adverse cardiometabolic health measures. Given the young age of study participants, intervening to promote better CVH in this population is warranted to prevent the development of cardiovascular disease. Differences across study sites were noted with lower Life’s Essential 8 metrics in the New York sample for 5 of the 8 measures examined. Our findings highlight the importance

Sources of Funding

The Boricua Youth Study has been supported by the National Institute of Health [MH56401 (Bird), DA033172 (Duarte), AA020191 (Duarte), MH098374 (Alegria, Canino, Duarte), HD060072 (Martins, Duarte, Canino), HL125761 (Suglia), UG3OD023328-01 (Duarte, Canino, Monk, Posner)].

Conflicts of Interest

None declared.

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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