Latino Health Paradox.

The Tomás Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI), based at the School of Policy, Planning, and Development at the University of Southern California, released a study, which revisits the Latino “health paradox.” The Latino “health paradox” refers to the widely- accepted belief that Latinos in the United States tend to be healthier than the average population despite their generally low socioeconomic status.

The TRPI study is unique because, unlike other studies on Latino health, it takes into account a variety of key factors, including socioeconomic status, insurance status, lifestyle habits, differences between groups (e.g., Latinos versus non-Latinos, first generation Latinos versus first generation immigrants of other ethnic backgrounds), and the effects of acculturation.

The results of the study reveal that, of seven key health outcomes, the Latino health paradox exists only for mental health issues, asthma, and high blood pressure. The study also finds that
immigrant Latinos become less healthy in these three outcomes after acculturation.

To download study CLICK on link below (Adobe Acrobat reader required):
http://trpi.org/PDFs/Latino%20Paradox%20Aug%202007%20PDF.pdf>