Abstract

The Hispanic Paradox is the finding that Hispanic immigrants living in the United States have better health than Anglo Americans despite being socioeconomically disadvantaged (Crespo et al., 1996; Stern et al., 1999; Sundquist et al., 1999; Dixon et al, 2000; Lariscy et al., 2015; Overton et al., 2015; Thomson et al., 2013). The literature surrounding the Hispanic Paradox has studied these effects primarily in Mexican-American Immigrant populations (Sundquist et al., 1999; Dixon et al, 2000; Lariscy et al.); however, additional research has found similar findings for various other Hispanic countries such as Cuba and Puerto Rico (Abraido-Lanza, A F. et al., 1999). It is not known if there is a Hispanic Paradox advantage during the menopausal transition. This study compared the health outcomes of 90 Mexican immigrant women between the ages of 40-60 living in the Utah to 78 Anglo American women of the same age in order to test the hypothesis that Mexican immigrant women are healthier than their Anglo-counterparts during the menopausal transition. We compared the health of the two groups of women across various health outcomes including blood pressure, C-reactive protein, BMI, fasting glucose, and cholesterol. Contrary to our hypotheses, Anglo Americans had better health across the board on all health outcome variables (BMI; F (1)= 3.63, p =.050; C-Reactive Protein; F (1)= 9.05, p =.003; Cholesterol; F (1)= 43.51, p =.000; Blood Pressure; F (1)= 43.32, p =.000; Fasting Glucose; F (1)= 12.25, p =.001). We speculate that our findings are not consistent with Hispanic Paradox theory because of the religious culture in Utah that lends itself to healthier individuals who refrain from cigarette smoke and alcohol consumption.

Degree

College and Department

Family, Home, and Social Sciences; Psychology

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