Acculturation: The Cumbersome Road to Chronic Diseases among Latino Immigrants

Abstract

The aim of this work is to analyze the relationship between chronic diseases and the acculturation process in Latin American immigrants. In comparison with many other ethnic groups, the Hispanic/Latino population is young relative to other groups, especially with the high and continuous influx of immigrants from the Latin American countries. In 2000, about 25.7 percent of the total U.S. population was under age eighteen, but 35 percent of the Hispanic population was under age eighteen (LaVeist 261). Additionally, Hispanics also have the highest fertility rate. Furthermore, Perez-Escamilla and Putnik argue that although Latinos show healthier trends upon arrival to the United States relative to their white and African American counterparts, the process of acculturation, “individuals who are in the transition (middle) phase of acculturation seem to have the worst health indicators and outcomes, including type 2 diabetes and mortality” (866). For these reasons, assessing the onset, development, and influential factors of chronic illnesses within Latino immigrants undergoing acculturation, as well as how they unfold across their generations, may provide a forthcoming panorama of the future demographic health layout of the United States. [From Introduction]