Ethnicity and Health

How people’s ancestry impacts their well-being

Her doctor knows what to watch for

Edgardo Maldonado, M.D., carefully tracks the health of Miguelina Gonzales of Allentown and his other Latino patients, whose ethnicity raises their risk for diabetes and high blood pressure.

Your Community, Your Hospital

Black and Latino women are two ethnic groups at higher risk for heart disease, yet their heart disease awareness level is, on average, only about half that of white women. Lehigh Valley Hospital is planning a special educational event targeted at each of those ethnic groups in the coming year. It’s part of our Heart Help for Women program, designed to educate and empower women. The program also connects women with doctors specially educated to recognize and treat women’s heart issues, and teaches them how to respond to the symptoms of a heart attack. Want details? Click here.

Your ethnic background affects so many aspects of your life—the foods you love, the holidays you celebrate, even how you relate to your family and friends. Ancestry affects something else, too, says family medicine physician Pamela LeDeaux, M.D., of Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network. “Ethnicity definitely plays a role in your health.” Here’s how:

Your genetic makeup
“Though humans differ only slightly from each other genetically, some ethnic groups carry gene mutations that predispose them to certain diseases,” says LeDeaux’s colleague, genetic counselor Tara Namey. For example, about 1 in 30 Caucasian adults is a carrier for cystic fibrosis, and 1 in 40 Ashkenazi Jewish women (which most Jews in the United States are) carries a genetic alteration that raises breast and ovarian cancer risk.

One in 12 Black Americans is a carrier for sickle-cell anemia, a condition that also affects people from Hispanic, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern regions where malaria was once common. “The sickle-cell trait actually protected its carriers from malaria and helped ensure their survival,” Namey says. But sickle-cell anemia carries its own risks, causing pain and organ damage.

Your culture
Culture plays a role in your diet, your attitudes about exercise, and even health-related spiritual beliefs such as “Your health is in God’s hands,” LeDeaux says.

“Latinos, for example, view those who are plump as healthy,” says internal medicine physician Edgardo Maldonado, M.D., of Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network. “And though they play sports, they don’t see exercise as an essential daily habit. Unfortunately, this puts them at greater risk for diabetes and high blood pressure.”

Your socioeconomic status
“In India, where there is little access to health care and medications, 100,000 people die every month of heart disease,” says Maldonado’s colleague, cardiologist Sultan Siddique, M.D. While their genes and lifestyle play a role, he says, socioeconomic factors are the major reason why those from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are at risk for heart disease as early as age 40.

Even in the affluent United States, LeDeaux says, “it comes down to this: if people’s basic needs aren’t being met—if they can’t pay the heat bill or the rent—they’re less likely to seek medical care.” And people who are poor may even lack access to nutritious food, she says. “The cheapest meal in town is fast food, which is high in fat and can lead to cardiovascular disease.”

Want to Know More? For health-related articles in Spanish, to sign up for our Diabetes eNewsletter (English or Spanish) or for information about Black Women and Heart Disease class, click above. For information on healthy ethnic foods, click on the link in the column on the right side of this page.

ARTICLE TOOLS: