Sociocultural and socioeconomic influences on type 2 diabetes risk in overweight/obese African-American and latino-american children and adolescents

Purpose. it is unclear whether sociocultural and socioeconomic factors are directly linked to type 2 diabetes risk in overweight/obese ethnic minority children and adolescents. this study examines the relationships between sociocultural orientation,household social position,and type 2 diabetes risk in overweight/obese african-american (n = 43) and latino-american (n = 113) children and adolescents. methods. sociocultural orientation was assessed using the acculturation,habits,and interests multicultural scale for adolescents (ahimsa) questionnaire. household social position was calculated using the hollingshead two-factor index of social position. insulin sensitivity (s i),acute insulin response (airg) and disposition index (di) were derived from a frequently sampled intravenous glucose tolerance test (fsigt). the relationships between ahimsa subscales (i.e.,integration,assimilation,separation,and marginalization),household social position and fsigt parameters were assessed using multiple linear regression. results. for african-americans,integration (integrating their family's culture with those of mainstream white-american culture) was positively associated with air g (β = 0.27 ± 0.09,r = 0.48,p < 0.01) and di (β = 0.28 ± 0.09,r = 0.55,p < 0.01). for latino-americans,household social position was inversely associated with airg (β = - 0.010 ± 0.004,r = - 0.19,p = 0.02) and di (β = - 20.44 ± 7.50,r = - 0.27,p < 0.01). conclusions. sociocultural orientation and household social position play distinct and opposing roles in shaping type 2 diabetes risk in african-american and latino-american children and adolescents. © 2013 rebecca e. hasson et al.