Comparison of Asthma Prevalence Among Hispanic Adults in Puerto Rico and Hispanic Adults of Puerto Rican Descent in the United States—Results from Two National Surveys

El Burai Felix, Suad

BACKGROUND: High asthma prevalence is a major concern in Puerto Ricans among Hispanic subgroups in the United States. Objective: To assess if asthma were as prevalent among Hispanic adults in Puerto Rico as among Hispanic adults of Puerto Rican descent in the United States.

METHODS: We used data from the 2008-2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and the 2008-2010 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) to assess the characteristics of Hispanic adults living in Puerto Rico and Hispanic adults of Puerto Rican descent living in the United States; compare and contrast differences in asthma prevalence; and identify risk factors for asthma. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the association between having current asthma (outcome variable) and age, sex, education, income, BMI, and smoking status (independent variables).

RESULTS: Both Hispanics in Puerto Rico and Puerto Rican Americans were younger, less educated, and obese and had low income compared with the US non-Hispanic adult population. Current asthma prevalence among Hispanics in Puerto Rico (6.8%) was similar to that among Hispanic Americans (6.6%); however, it was lower than that of non-Hispanic Americans (8.8%). In contrast, asthma prevalence among Puerto Rican Americans (15.7%) was higher than among both Hispanic Americans (6.0%) and non-Hispanic Americans (8.0%). Adjusting for potential confounders did not alter the results. Asthma prevalence was significantly associated with obesity among Puerto Rican Americans (aPR=1.5[1.1–2.0]) and with obesity (aPR=1.5[1.3–1.9]), smoking (aPR=1.4[1.1–1.9]), and being female (aPR=1.9[1.5–2.4]) among Hispanics in Puerto Rico.

CONCLUSIONS: Despite having similar demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, asthma was more prevalent among Puerto Rican Americans than Hispanics in Puerto Rico. Although the observed associations did not explain most variation in asthma prevalence between these two populations, they may lay the foundation for future research.