The Association Between Acculturation & C-reactive Protein in U.S. Immigrants: A Cross-sectional Study
Presenter Biography
Jessica and Rosol are in their second year of the MPH Epidemiology program, and this study was completed as part of their Epidemiological Data Analysis & Interpretation class (EPI 536). Dr. Karasek and Dr. Reavis were instructors for the class and contributed feedback throughout the study.
Institution
OHSU
Program/Major
Epidemiology
Degree
MPH
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
4-4-2024 1:00 PM
Keywords
Acculturation, C-reactive Protein, Immigrants
Abstract
Purpose: Immigrants undergo acculturation as they assimilate to a different culture, potentially leading to immense stress. Our objective was to examine the association between acculturation and C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of stress-induced inflammation. We hypothesized that U.S. foreign-born adults 20 years and older with higher degrees of acculturation would have higher CRP levels compared to those with lower acculturation.
Method: We used 2017-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data from 1526 participants to conduct a cross-sectional analysis. We measured acculturation as language spoken at home (categorized as low, moderate, and high) and examined its association with CRP using multivariable regression. We assessed effect measure modification by race/ethnicity in a subgroup of Hispanic and non-Hispanic Asian participants.
Results: In our main analysis, higher acculturation was not significantly associated with higher CRP levels after adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, education level, citizenship status, and gender. The percent difference in CRP among those with higher acculturation was 5.3% higher compared to those with lower acculturation (95% CI: -7.3, 19.6). When we assessed differences by race/ethnicity within a subgroup of Hispanic and non-Hispanic Asian participants, we found that among those who were Hispanic, the percent difference in CRP among those with moderate acculturation was 17.7% lower compared to those with low acculturation (95%CI: -29.6, -3.8).
Conclusion: We observed lower CRP levels among Hispanic participants with moderate acculturation compared to those with low acculturation. Our results indicate that the acculturation process is complex and may vary between different cultural and ethnic groups.
The Association Between Acculturation & C-reactive Protein in U.S. Immigrants: A Cross-sectional Study
Purpose: Immigrants undergo acculturation as they assimilate to a different culture, potentially leading to immense stress. Our objective was to examine the association between acculturation and C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of stress-induced inflammation. We hypothesized that U.S. foreign-born adults 20 years and older with higher degrees of acculturation would have higher CRP levels compared to those with lower acculturation.
Method: We used 2017-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data from 1526 participants to conduct a cross-sectional analysis. We measured acculturation as language spoken at home (categorized as low, moderate, and high) and examined its association with CRP using multivariable regression. We assessed effect measure modification by race/ethnicity in a subgroup of Hispanic and non-Hispanic Asian participants.
Results: In our main analysis, higher acculturation was not significantly associated with higher CRP levels after adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, education level, citizenship status, and gender. The percent difference in CRP among those with higher acculturation was 5.3% higher compared to those with lower acculturation (95% CI: -7.3, 19.6). When we assessed differences by race/ethnicity within a subgroup of Hispanic and non-Hispanic Asian participants, we found that among those who were Hispanic, the percent difference in CRP among those with moderate acculturation was 17.7% lower compared to those with low acculturation (95%CI: -29.6, -3.8).
Conclusion: We observed lower CRP levels among Hispanic participants with moderate acculturation compared to those with low acculturation. Our results indicate that the acculturation process is complex and may vary between different cultural and ethnic groups.