Date of Presentation
5-4-2023 12:00 AM
College
School of Osteopathic Medicine
Poster Abstract
Childhood obesity rates have been on a remarkably steep rise in recent years. According to recent literature, the rate in the United States alone has more than doubled compared to other regions in the world such as Australia, Canada and Europe1,2 . Especially in the African immigrant community, there has been speculation of a higher prevalence of childhood obesity in the United States3 . This warranted further investigation into demographic factors impacting childhood obesity rates and their subsequent consequences with other clinical diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. The CDC reports that in 2011-2014, among individuals ages 2 to 19, the prevalence of obesity decreased as the head of household’s level of education increased 3 . However, looking at the country of origin for the head of the household mixed with an objective approach to evaluate glycemic control is a novel approach. The focus of the project was to investigate correlation between factors such as immigration status and its relationship to metabolic risk factors predisposing them to other comorbidities in the pediatric population. The datasets used in the study were derived from the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database. For the 2011-2012 dataset, when comparing the mean HbA1c score of obese children, those whose Household reference person was born outside the USA and had some college education or above showed a significantly higher mean HbA1c score compared to the obese children whose Household reference person was born in the USA with the same college education level. There is statistical significance in the means between country of birth and education level (p=0.04).
Keywords
Pediatric Obesity, Emigrants and Immigrants, Socioeconomic Factors, Sociodemographic Factors, African People
Disciplines
Community Health and Preventive Medicine | Endocrine System Diseases | Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism | Medicine and Health | Medicine and Health Sciences | Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases | Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms | Pediatrics | Race and Ethnicity
Document Type
Poster
Included in
Community Health and Preventive Medicine Commons, Endocrine System Diseases Commons, Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism Commons, Medicine and Health Commons, Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases Commons, Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Commons, Pediatrics Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons
Immigration Status and Household Income as Predictors of Childhood Obesity
Childhood obesity rates have been on a remarkably steep rise in recent years. According to recent literature, the rate in the United States alone has more than doubled compared to other regions in the world such as Australia, Canada and Europe1,2 . Especially in the African immigrant community, there has been speculation of a higher prevalence of childhood obesity in the United States3 . This warranted further investigation into demographic factors impacting childhood obesity rates and their subsequent consequences with other clinical diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. The CDC reports that in 2011-2014, among individuals ages 2 to 19, the prevalence of obesity decreased as the head of household’s level of education increased 3 . However, looking at the country of origin for the head of the household mixed with an objective approach to evaluate glycemic control is a novel approach. The focus of the project was to investigate correlation between factors such as immigration status and its relationship to metabolic risk factors predisposing them to other comorbidities in the pediatric population. The datasets used in the study were derived from the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database. For the 2011-2012 dataset, when comparing the mean HbA1c score of obese children, those whose Household reference person was born outside the USA and had some college education or above showed a significantly higher mean HbA1c score compared to the obese children whose Household reference person was born in the USA with the same college education level. There is statistical significance in the means between country of birth and education level (p=0.04).