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. 2015 Jul;105 Suppl 3(Suppl 3):S409-23.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2015.302571. Epub 2015 Apr 23.

Intergenerational transmission of the effects of acculturation on health in Hispanic Americans: a fetal programming perspective

Molly Fox  1 , Sonja Entringer, Claudia Buss, Jessica DeHaene, Pathik D Wadhwa
Affiliations

Intergenerational transmission of the effects of acculturation on health in Hispanic Americans: a fetal programming perspective

Molly Fox et al. Am J Public Health. 2015 Jul.

Abstract

We propose a transdisciplinary, life span framework for examining the underlying cause of the observed intergenerational decline in health among Hispanic Americans. We focus on acculturation, and we posit that acculturation-related processes in first-generation Hispanic immigrant mothers may affect the intrauterine development of an unborn child, via the process of fetal programming, to produce phenotypic effects that may alter the susceptibility for noncommunicable chronic diseases. In this manner, an intergenerational cascade of perpetuation may become established. Our framework may shed light on the biological, behavioral, and social causes of intergenerational cycles of vulnerability among immigrant minority groups, with public health and policy implications for primary prevention and intervention.

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Figures

FIGURE 1—
FIGURE 1—
The prevailing paradigm, which suggests that the decline in health observed both within individuals and across generations of Hispanic Americans is explained by the degree of acculturation.
FIGURE 2—
FIGURE 2—
New, proposed framework suggesting that maternal acculturation may influence fetal programming in ways that affect the offspring’s lifelong health, potentially accounting for the intergenerational decline in health observed in Hispanic Americans. Note. BMI = body mass index.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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