Neighborhood ethnic composition, spatial assimilation, and change in body mass index over time among Hispanic and Chinese immigrants: Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

We investigated relations between changes in neighborhood ethnic composition and changes in body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference among Chinese and Hispanic immigrants in the United States.

Methods

We used Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis data over a median 9-year follow-up (2000-2002 to 2010-2012) among Chinese (n = 642) and Hispanic (n = 784) immigrants aged 45 to 84 years at baseline. We incorporated information about residential moves and used econometric fixed-effects models to control for confounding by time-invariant characteristics. We characterized neighborhood racial/ethnic composition with census tract-level percentage Asian for Chinese participants and percentage Hispanic for Hispanic participants (neighborhood coethnic concentration).

SUBMITTER: Le-Scherban F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4192094 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature