Despite the burgeoning U.S. Latino population and their increased risk of chronic disease, little emphasis had been placed on developing culturally sensitive lifestyle interventions in this area. This article examines older Latinas’ sociocultural context relative to health with the goal of developing a culturally sensitive health behavior intervention. Photo-elicitation indicated two emerging themes that influenced lifestyle choices: family caregiving and religion. Researchers partnered with a faith-based organization to develop and implement a 6-month lifestyle intervention for Latinas ages 50 and older: Abuelas en Acción (AEA). At completion, interviews were conducted to understand women’s experiences and the influence AEA had on their lifestyles and health. Findings suggest that religious content empowered and deeply affected women; however, the intergenerational content presented significant challenges for instruction, retention, and implementation. We discuss findings in relation to the health intervention literature and provide suggestions for future interventions drawing on religion, family, and health behavior change.

Cultural factors influence the development of all children. Yet, current knowledge of explicit cultural socialization processes in childhood remains limited, mainly by failing to incorporate the experiences of young children. To address this critical gap, the authors introduce the OMERS-Peds task, an observational measurement designed to systematically identify and compare the content of cultural messages passed down from caregivers to offspring during early school age years. The OMERS-Peds was administered to mothers and children (n= 275) from three diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds (African American (n= 153), Hispanic (n=61), and non-Hispanic White (n= 61)) within the longitudinal Multidimensional Assessment of Preschoolers (MAPS) Study. The OMERS-Peds coding system was used to rate how strongly families endorsed five key constructs: family culture, religion, identity, ethnicity, and race. A series of χ² statistic tests were used to compare scores across racial/ethnic backgrounds, and within families (between children and their mothers). Analyses revealed that in the cultural socialization conversations occurring in early childhood, parents and children prioritize talking about their family’s culture and religion. Independent of their racial/ ethnic backgrounds, mothers and children seldom discussed race and ethnicity. Contrary to research with older children, differences were mainly identified within families, rather than across racial/ethnic groups. Findings support the need to include children’s perspectives in the assessments of cultural socialization, as opposed to relying primarily on parent reports, and highlight the importance of having an observational methodology that allows researchers to examine parent-child bidirectional interactions during early school age years in a systematic manner.

Background: In 2010, the American Heart Association introduced Life's Simple 7, a construct to measure, monitor, and modify cardiovascular health (CVH) across the lifespan. We aimed to summarize the knowledge on outcomes, prevalence, determinants, and mechanisms of Life's Simple 7. Methods: We systematically searched PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases for publications in English examining Life's Simple 7 or 3 or more CVH metrics from January 1, 2010 to January 1, 2021. Risk of bias was assessed with the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool for studies of outcomes, prevalence, and determinants. Results: Of 4624 publications screened, 483 were included; most had low risk of bias. Studies of outcomes (n=259) showed that ideal/high CVH (score ≥12/14 or 6/7 ideal metrics) consistently associates with benefits in multiple bodily systems from brain to toe and from gestation to extreme old age. Low prevalence of ideal/high CVH (n=84) was reported worldwide. Longitudinal studies (n=144) showed CVH is higher at younger ages and declines with age. CVH disparities persist, with lower CVH among underrepresented individuals, in lower levels of urbanization, and greater exposure to adverse social determinants. Studies of mechanisms (n=23) showed the benefits of ideal/high CVH are partly due to lower inflammation and pathways yet to be defined. Conclusions: Less is known about CVH among children and diverse populations, the benefits of modest improvements, and underlying mechanisms. Consistent evidence supports targeting social, psychological, and prenatal factors to improve individual and population CVH across the lifespan. Publication bias and overrepresentation of studies reporting significant associations cannot be excluded.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between ACEs and inflammatory profiles (i.e., pro- and anti-) in early childhood and to examine whether patterns differ for racial/ethnic subgroups. Using longitudinal data from the Multidimensional Assessment of Preschoolers Study (MAPS) (N = 122), we examined the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) beginning at birth, C -reactive protein (CRP), and both pro-inflammatory (i.e., IL-1 β, IL-6, TNF, and CRP) and anti-inflammatory (i.e. IL-4 and IL-10) biomarkers during early school age (ages 6–8 years). No children in the sample were reported to have experienced 0 ACES, 7% had 1 ACE, 51% had 2-3 ACEs, and 42% had 4 or more ACEs accumulated by the early school-age wave (ESA). There were no significant associations between cumulative ACEs and inflammatory markers. However, parental substance abuse, a specific ACE, was positively correlated with a pro-inflammatory profile at early school age (r = 0.18, p<.05). Specifically, substance abuse as an ACE was associated with higher levels of pro-inflammatory markers such as IL-1 β and IL-6. Additionally, Hispanics with ACEs had higher levels of CRP than Black and white individuals. Children with histories of ACEs, especially those with parental substance abuse, may have higher levels of inflammation. Better understanding the role of inflammation in the development of chronic diseases for individuals with ACEs may allow earlier identification and prevention of disease during childhood for those at the highest risk.

Background: We investigated associations of childhood abuse with 4 cardiovascular disease risk factors in adulthood, and whether exposure to nurturing and household organization in childhood mitigated these associations. Methods and Results: The CARDIA (Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults) study (baseline examination, 1985–1986) was used to examine associations of childhood exposures (measured retrospectively at the year 15 examination) with incident obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia (assessed from baseline to year 30). Race‐ and sex‐stratified Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine associations of exposure to childhood abuse with incident cardiovascular disease risk factors. Interaction terms between exposure to abuse and exposure to nurturing relationship and household organization were included to test for effect modifications. Exposure to occasional/frequent abuse (versus no abuse) was associated with incident type 2 diabetes among White men (hazard ratio [HR], 1.81; 95% CI, 1.06–3.08). Exposure to low versus no abuse was associated with incident hyperlipidemia among White men (HR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.09–1.67) and White women (HR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.01–1.56). Risks of incident hyperlipidemia were higher for White women who experienced abuse and lived in dysfunctional households (HR, 3.61; 95% CI, 1.62–8.05) or households with low levels of organization (HR, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.25–3.36) compared with White women who experienced abuse but lived in well‐organized households (HR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.41–1.06). Similar patterns were seen for Black men who lived in dysfunctional households (HR, 3.62; 95% CI, 1.29–10.12) or households with low organization (HR, 2.01; 95% CI, 1.08–3.72). Conclusions: We identified race‐ and sex‐specific associations of childhood exposures with incident cardiovascular disease risk factors. The associations of household organization and dysfunction with cardiovascular disease risks merits further investigation.