Acculturation and Syndemic Risk: Longitudinal Evaluation of Risk Factors Among Pregnant Latina Adolescents in New York City.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Syndemics are co-occurring epidemics that synergistically contribute to specific risks or health outcomes. Although there is substantial evidence demonstrating their existence, little is known about their change over time in adolescents.

Purpose

The objectives of this paper were to identify longitudinal changes in a syndemic of substance use, intimate partner violence, and depression and determine whether immigration/cultural factors moderate this syndemic over time.

Methods

In a cohort of 772 pregnant Latina adolescents (ages 14-21) in New York City, we examined substance use, intimate partner violence, and depression as a syndemic. We used longitudinal mixed-effect modeling to evaluate whether higher syndemic score predicted higher syndemic severity, from

SUBMITTER: Martinez I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6367896 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature