Heart disease risk factors are widespread among U.S. Latino adults, with 80% of men and 71% of women having at least one risk factor for heart disease, according to a San Diego State University (SDSU) study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). These percentages are much higher than the general population, where 49% of adults have at least one major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Prevalence of risk factors varies across Hispanic/Latino background groups, with some groups, particularly those with Puerto Rican background, experiencing high rates of heart disease risk factors compared to other groups, according to findings from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL), which will be published in today's Journal of the American Medical ...
Editor's Note: This is the story of a graduate of the 2012 Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. Apply by April 1, 2013, for the 2013 Èxito! program. Diana Flores
San Mateo, Calif. Some of Diana Flores’ extended family members didn’t want her to go to college. They thought she should stick to a traditional Latina role—wife and mother—instead of “wasting” money and time on education. But Flores’ mother and father encouraged her to pursue the educational career path she was passionate about. With their support, she earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s degree in public health (environmental health sciences and global health) from the University of California, Los Angeles ...
Editor's Note: This is the story of a graduate of the 2012 Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. Apply by April 1, 2013, for the 2013 Èxito! program. Carla Rosales
Kenner, La. Carla Rosales found herself essentially on her own in a new city in New Orleans, not knowing anyone, not knowing much about the college process and little financial aid. But with her supportive parents in her native Honduras and her family’s faith and culture, she overcame many hurdles and doubts to move to New Orleans in 2006—a year after Hurricane Katrina—and reach her higher education goals. Rosales earned her bachelor’s degree and worked as a research assistant at the University of New Orleans, where she helped conduct research based on identification and characterization of ...
Check out Balsera Communications' infographic on how culture may help prevent Latino health problems. Latinos face a high risk of certain health problems—heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes and certain cancers—but the infographic argues that, "by infusing some of the most cherished traits of our culture into solutions for our health disparities, we can help overcome them in a fun and effortless ...
Editor's Note: This is the story of a graduate of the 2012 Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. Apply by March 15, 2013, for the 2013 Èxito! program. Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training, based at the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, will select 20 master’s-level students and master’s trained health professionals from across the nation to attend a five-day summer institute June 3-7, 2013, in San Antonio, offering tools, tips, role models and motivation to encourage participants to pursue a doctoral degree and a career studying how cancer affects Latinos differently. Internships also are available. Apply here. Why should you consider the program? Watch this video. Or listen to Steven ...
You’re invited to check out the new revamped website of the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, which investigates the causes of and solutions to the unequal impact of cancer, chronic disease and obesity among Latinos in South Texas and across the nation. The website now features: Additional areas for news, research and materials
Better organization for rapid access to research
Seamless video player
Social media integration You can also now sign up to get the latest Latino health news via e-mail. “Our website aims to raise awareness of our work to improve the health of Latinos, a diverse, culturally rich population that faces a higher burden of certain diseases than other groups,” said Amelie G. Ramirez, ...
Sandra San Miguel de Majors, a research instructor at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the Health Science Center at San Antonio, touted the use of community health workers—called promotores—to improve people's health at the Latina Health Policy Briefing for Promotores de Salud on Sept. 26, 2012, at the White House in Washington, D.C. The policy briefing, organized by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to review the affordable care act, united key Latino health care providers, researchers, stakeholders and promotores to discuss successful evidenced-based Latino research initiatives utilizing promotores. The briefing featured Cecilia Muñoz, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council and Kathleen Sebelius, HHS secretary. San ...
Editor's Note: Apply by March 15 for the 2013 Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. Elie Benavidez, a master’s-degree student at The University of Texas at San Antonio, already is making strides to improve the lives of Latinos. She teaches elementary-school students and volunteers her time to increase local access to healthy food. Now Benavidez, inspired by her mother’s cancer battle, is considering seeking a doctoral degree and doing cancer research. That’s why she and 19 other master’s-level students or health professionals joined the Institute for Health Promotion Research’s second-annual Summer Institute of Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training on June 7-11, 2012, in San Antonio. Exito! encourages participants to pursue a doctoral ...
Cancer is now the leading killer of Hispanics in the U.S., the latest sign it's beginning to displace heart disease as the nation's top cause of death, the Associated Press reports:
The rest of the country may not be far behind, "probably in the next 10 years," said Rebecca Siegel of the American Cancer Society. She is the lead author of a study reporting the new findings. That may be a conservative estimate. Government health statisticians think cancer could overtake heart disease as the top U.S. killer as early as this year, or at least in the next two or three.
For decades, heart disease has been the nation's leading cause of death. But cancer has been closing in on it. That's largely because of better heart disease treatments, including statin drugs that lower cholesterol.
Why is ...
