Self-reported diabetes and hypertension among Arab Americans in the United States.

OBJECTIVE The prevalence of diabetes and hypertension is increasing in the United States. Estimates for Blacks and Hispanics are higher compared to non-Hispanic Whites. When comparing estimates among racial and ethnic groups, Whites are used as the reference category. Whites are a very heterogeneous group, comprising persons having origins in Europe, North America, or the Middle East. The objective of this paper was to examine the association between nativity and self-reported diabetes and hypertension among a sample of non-Hispanic Whites including individuals born in the Middle East (referred to as Arab Americans; n=425) and born in the United States (n=79,228). DESIGN We use data from the 2000-2003 National Health Interview Surveys (NHIS). The NHIS is an annual, face-to-face interview of the civilian, noninstitutionalized US population that uses a three-stage stratified cluster probability sampling design. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the association between nativity and self-reported diabetes and hypertension among non-Hispanic Whites. RESULTS We found that the prevalence of diabetes was 4.8% for Arab Americans and 6.9% for non-Hispanic Whites (not significant). Similarly, the prevalence of hypertension was 13.4% for Arab Americans and 24.5% for non-Hispanic Whites (P<.0001). No association between country of birth, diabetes, or hypertension was seen. CONCLUSIONS Nativity status was not significantly associated with self-reported diabetes and hypertension among non-Hispanic Whites. Future studies should examine ethnic heterogeneity among non-Hispanic Whites.