Hypertension Prevalence and Related Risk Factors Among Mexican American Adults Are Increasing: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999 to 2018

Abstract

Background Acculturation affects hypertension prevalence among Hispanic people, but there have been no recent analyses specifically focused on Mexican American (MA) people. We sought to determine age‐adjusted hypertension prevalence, abdominal obesity, and acculturation trends among MA adults and non‐Hispanic White adults. Methods and Results Data from the NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) were analyzed in 2‐year increments to observe trends in hypertension and risk factors (age, sex, body mass index, smoking status, abdominal obesity, waist‐to‐height ratio (WHtR), education, and income). Acculturation was based on three commonly used measures. The sample included 30 920 adults. Age‐adjusted hypertension prevalence is higher in MA adults (52.7%) than White adults (48.3%). Hypertension risk factors—age, obesity prevalence, WHtR, acculturation—all significantly increased among MA adults, while smoking declined. Higher acculturation scores increased hypertension likelihood (odds ratio [OR], 1.44 [95% CI, 0.91–1.97]) for MA adults compared with those with lower acculturation scores. White adults with elevated WHtR >0.5 had a 40% higher risk of hypertension than those with WHtR <0.5, but among MA adults, elevated WHtR did not increase risk for hypertension. There was a significant increase in hypertension prevalence among MA adults from 2003 to 2018 at an average biennial rate of 2.23%. There was no change in hypertension prevalence among White adults from 1999 to 2018. Conclusions Over 20 years of NHANES, more highly acculturated MA adults were at greater risk for hypertension, despite declines in smoking and controlling for age, sex, obesity status, education, and income. Finding ways to promote more traditional lifestyle and eating habits for MA adults could be a beneficial approach to reducing hypertension risk factors in this population.