13 Aug No “Hispanic Paradox” Obesity Strongly Associated With Mortality in Latinx Population
Posted at 11:35h
in Annals Internal Medicine, Author Interviews, Race/Ethnic Diversity, Weight Research
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
[caption id="attachment_50610" align="alignleft" width="200"]
Dr. Emberson[/caption]
Jonathan Emberson, PhD
Associate Professor
(Medical Statistics and Epidemiology)
Deputy Director of Graduate Studies
Medical Research Council Population Health Research Unit
Clinical Trial Service Unit & Epidemiological Studies Unit
Nuffield Department Population Health
University of Oxford
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Some previous studies had claimed that being overweight is not strongly associated with mortality in Hispanic populations (the ‘Hispanic paradox’). However, these studies had not accounted for the fact that while obesity makes diabetes and several other chronic diseases more common, these diseases may then result in substantial weight loss, thereby hiding the reason why those diseases arose in the first place.
Dr. Johnson[/caption]
Dayna A. Johnson PhD
Department of Epidemiology
Emory University
Atlanta, GA
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: There are several studies that have determined that African Americans have the highest prevalence of hypertension and are the most likely to have uncontrolled hypertension compared to other racial/ethnic groups. We were interested in studying whether sleep apnea contributed to hypertension control among African Americans.
We found that participants with sleep apnea were more likely to have resistant hypertension than those without sleep apnea. In particular, individuals with severe sleep apnea had the highest risk of resistant hypertension. Most of the participants with measured sleep apnea were undiagnosed (96%). 
Dr. Barrett[/caption]
Charles Barrett. Ph.D.
School Psychologist
Loudon County Virginia
Public Schools
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: Numerous studies have shown that Black children are more likely to receive ratings that are more indicative of displaying externalizing behavior difficulties, including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). However, many of these studies included teachers as the informants. Consistent with most teachers in the United States, raters have typically been White females. For this reason, it is unclear if these outcomes would exist if the rater and child shared the same racial/ethnic background. Additionally, most research in the United States that involved cross-cultural comparisons has used White and Hispanic boys. Few empirical studies have examined differences between Black and White boys.
The present study sought to address several limitations in the field. Most notably, cross-cultural comparisons between Black and White boys were included instead of Hispanic and White children. Next, maternal figures, rather than teachers, were included as the informants.
The present study was developed using a similar methodology that examined Hispanic and White boys’ behavior from the perspective of Hispanic and White teachers (Dominguez de Ramirez & Shapiro, 2005). In sum, we sought to determine if there were differences in how Black and White maternal figures rated Black and White boys who were demonstrating the same level/type of behavior (i.e., sub-clinical levels of 
