Black Immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean Have Similar Rates of Diabetes but Africans Are Less Obese: the New York City Community Health Survey 2009-2013

Margrethe F Horlyck-Romanovsky^{1

2}, Melissa Fuster³, Sandra E Echeverria⁴, Katarzyna Wyka^{5

6}, May May Leung⁷, Anne E Sumner^{8

9}, Terry T-K Huang^{5

4}

Affiliations

¹ Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, Center for Systems and Community Design, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA. MargretheHR@nih.gov.
² Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, Department of Community Health and Social Science, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA. MargretheHR@nih.gov.
³ Brooklyn College, Department of Health and Nutrition Sciences, City University of New York, Brooklyn, NY, USA.
⁴ Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, Department of Community Health and Social Science, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA.
⁵ Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, Center for Systems and Community Design, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA.
⁶ Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA.
⁷ Hunter College, Nutrition Program, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA.
⁸ National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD, USA.
⁹ National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.

PMID: 30725381
DOI: 10.1007/s40615-019-00562-3

Black Immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean Have Similar Rates of Diabetes but Africans Are Less Obese: the New York City Community Health Survey 2009-2013

Margrethe F Horlyck-Romanovsky et al. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2019 Jun.

. 2019 Jun;6(3):635-645.

doi: 10.1007/s40615-019-00562-3. Epub 2019 Feb 6.

Authors

Margrethe F Horlyck-Romanovsky^{1

2}, Melissa Fuster³, Sandra E Echeverria⁴, Katarzyna Wyka^{5

6}, May May Leung⁷, Anne E Sumner^{8

9}, Terry T-K Huang^{5

4}

Affiliations

¹ Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, Center for Systems and Community Design, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA. MargretheHR@nih.gov.
² Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, Department of Community Health and Social Science, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA. MargretheHR@nih.gov.
³ Brooklyn College, Department of Health and Nutrition Sciences, City University of New York, Brooklyn, NY, USA.
⁴ Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, Department of Community Health and Social Science, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA.
⁵ Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, Center for Systems and Community Design, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA.
⁶ Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA.
⁷ Hunter College, Nutrition Program, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA.
⁸ National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD, USA.
⁹ National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.

PMID: 30725381
DOI: 10.1007/s40615-019-00562-3

Abstract

Objective: This study was designed to determine (a) whether the prevalence and odds of either obesity or diabetes differed in foreign-born black Africans and Caribbeans living in New York City (NYC) and (b) whether time in the United States (US) affected odds of either outcome.

Methods: Data were obtained from NYC Community Health Survey 2009-13 for 380 African-born blacks and 2689 Caribbean-born blacks. Weighted logistic regression estimated odds of obesity and diabetes, adjusting for age, sex, education, income, marital status, children < 18, BMI (diabetes models only), and time in the US.

Results: Obesity prevalence in Africans (60.2%, male; age, 46.0 ± 13.5 years, (mean ± SD); BMI, 27.3 ± 5.6 kg/m²) was 16.7 and 30.2% in Caribbeans (39.3%, male; age, 49.7 ± 14.7 years; BMI, 28.0 ± 5.8 kg/m²). Prevalence of diabetes was 10.5% in Africans and 14.7% in Caribbeans. Africans had lower adjusted odds of obesity (aOR = 0.60 (95% CI, 0.40-0.90); P = 0.015), but there was no difference in diabetes odds between groups. Obesity odds were higher in African (aOR = 2.35 (95% CI, 1.16-4.78); P = 0.018) and Caribbean women (aOR = 2.20 (95% CI, 1.63-2.98); P < 0.001) than their male counterparts. Odds of diabetes did not differ between sexes in either group. Time in the US did not affect odds of either obesity or diabetes.

Conclusions: Africans living in NYC are less obese than Caribbeans, but odds of diabetes do not differ. Time in the US does not affect odds of either obesity or diabetes. Hence, BMI and diabetes risk profiles in blacks differ by region of origin and combining foreign-born blacks into one group masks important differences.

Keywords: African; Black immigrants; Caribbean; Diabetes; Obesity.

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References

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Black Immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean Have Similar Rates of Diabetes but Africans Are Less Obese: the New York City Community Health Survey 2009-2013

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Black Immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean Have Similar Rates of Diabetes but Africans Are Less Obese: the New York City Community Health Survey 2009-2013

Authors

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Abstract

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Medical