Epidemiology Across Cultures: Latino/Hispanic Populations

Demographics | Health Statistics | Educational Statistics | Resources

Demographics

People of Spanish/Hispanic/Latino origin could identify as Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, or other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino. The term "Latino" appeared on the census form for the first time in 2000.  People who marked "other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino" had additional space to write Hispanic origins, such as Salvadoran or Dominican. The 2005 American Community Survey estimates that the United States population was 288.4 million. Of the total, 41.9 million, or 14.5 percent, reported that they are Hispanic or Latino of any race. Mexicans represented 26.8 million or 9.3 percent, Puerto Ricans 3.8 million or 1.3 percent, Cubans 1.5 million or 0.5 percent, and other Hispanics 9.8 million or 3.4 percent of the total population. [1]

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Health Statistics

Incidence and Prevalence of Diseases

AIDS/HIV, number of 38,730 newly reported cases in 2004 [2]       

6,970

Coronary Heart Disease (Hispanic/Latinos) [3]

6.0%

Cleft lip/palate [4]

65 per 100,000 live births

Diabetes Mellitus (Hispanic/Latinos)

10.4%

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome [5] 

0.2 per 1,000 live births

Sickle Cell Anemia [6]

1 per 900 births

Stroke (Hispanic/Latinos)

2.8%

 

 

Female

Male

Cardiovascular Disease (CVD)(Mexican Americans)

34.4%

31.6%

Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) (Mexican Americans)

5.3%

5.6%

Diabetes Mellitus (Mexican Americans)

10.9%

11.0%

Stroke(Mexican Americans)

1.9%

3.1%

Risk Factors

 

Female

Male

Hypertension (Mexican Americans)  

31.4%

28.7%

Obesity (BMI 30+) (Mexican Americans)

39.4%

29.1%

Total cholesterol 240 mg/dL+ (Mexican Americans)

14.2%

16.0%

 

Hispanic/Latino

Hypertension

19.0%

Obesity (BMI 30+)

24.7%

Total cholesterol 240 mg/dL+

25.6%

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Educational Statistics

According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, approximately 18.5% of students enrolled in elementary and secondary schools in the Fall of 2003 were Hispanic. [7] The US Census Bureau indicates that 69.9% of Hispanic or Latino children ages 5-17 speak a language other than English. [8]

Special Education Identification (Fall 2005) [9]

 

Hispanic

Specific Learning Disabilities

4.71

Speech or Language Impairment

1.63

Mental Retardation

0.59

Emotional Disturbance

0.43

Multiple Disabilities

0.14

Hearing Impairment

0.13

Orthopedic Impairment

0.11

Other Health Impairment

0.44

Visual Impairment

0.04

Autism

0.18

Deaf-Blindness

0.00

Traumatic Brain Injury

0.03

Developmental Delay

0.06

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Resources

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[1] U.S. Census Bureau. American community survey. Data generated by Andrea Moxley; using American FactFinder.  Retrieved March 16, 2007 from http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html.

[2] Center for Disease Control and Population. (2007). "Fact Sheet: HIV/AIDS among Hispanics." Downloaded  March 13, 2007 from http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/resources/factsheets/PDF/hispanic.pdf [PDF].

[3] American Heart Association. (2007). Heart disease and stroke statistics-2007 update. Dallas: American Heart Association.

[4] National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 55, No. 1, September 29, 2006. "Number and rate of live births to mothers with selected risk factor during pregnancy, obstetric procedures, characteristics of labor and delivery, and congenital anomalities, by age and race and Hispanic origin of mother: United States, 2004." Downloaded March 20, 2007 from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr55/nvsr55_01.pdf [PDF].

[5] Center for Disease Control. Healthy people 2010. Data generated by Andrea Moxley using CDC Wonder. Downloaded from http://wonder.cdc.gov/data2010.

[6] How common is Sickle Cell Anemia? (n.d.) Retrieved March 20, 2007, from http://www.ascaa.org/How_Common_Is_Sickle_Cell_Anemia.asp.

[7] Digest of Education Statistics. (2005). "Percentage distribution of enrollment in public elementary and secondary school, by race/ethnicity and state: Fall 1993 and Fall 2003". Downloaded March 13, 2007 from http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d05/tables/dt05_038.asp

[8] U.S. Census Bureau. Census 2000. Data generated by Andrea Moxley; using American Fact Finder: http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html.

[9] http://www.ideadata.org/tables29th/ar_1-18.htm downloaded March 13, 2007. 


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