摘要：Objectives. We estimated the prevalence of overweight and diabetes among US immigrants by region of birth. Methods. We analyzed data on 34 456 US immigrant adults from the National Health Interview Survey, pooling years 1997 to 2005. We estimated age- and gender-adjusted and multivariable-adjusted overweight and diabetes prevalence by region of birth using logistic regression. Results. Both men (odds ratio [OR] = 3.3; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.9, 5.8) and women (OR = 4.2; 95% CI = 2.3, 7.7) from the Indian subcontinent were more likely than were European migrants to have diabetes without corresponding increased risk of being overweight. Men and women from Mexico, Central America, or the Caribbean were more likely to be overweight (men: OR = 1.5; 95% CI = 1.3, 1.7; women: OR = 2.0; 95% CI = 1.7, 2.2) and to have diabetes (men: OR = 2.0; 95% CI = 1.4, 2.9; women: OR = 2.0; 95% CI = 1.4, 2.8) than were European migrants. Conclusions. Considerable heterogeneity in both prevalence of overweight and diabetes by region of birth highlights the importance of making this distinction among US immigrants to better identify subgroups with higher risks of these conditions. Coincidental with the increases in prevalence of overweight—defined as a body mass index (BMI; weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) of 25 kg/m 2 or more—and associated diseases such as diabetes, 1 – 3 the US population has grown and diversified, in part due to the immigrant population. In 2006, the US immigrant population accounted for over 12% of the total population, 4 the largest proportion in the United States since the early 1900s, 5 reflecting the large waves of immigration to the United States over the past 2 decades. 6 By 2050, it is projected that nearly 1 in 5 US residents will be an immigrant, compared with 1 in 8 in 2005. 7 At the same time, the numbers of people with diabetes in the United States are projected to rise to 48 million by 2050, 8 with changing US demography cited as a major reason for this increase. 9 These projections, however, do not specifically estimate the contribution of immigrants to current or future prevalence estimates, because there is a dearth of national estimates of overweight and diabetes for this growing and diverse subpopulation. Generally, immigrants have better health profiles compared with those born in the United States. 10 – 12 However, it has been shown that immigrants who arrive to the United States at younger ages are more likely to be overweight or obese with increasing length of residence than are immigrants who arrive to the United States at later ages. 13 Grouping immigrants together into 1 or a few large categories may mask important heterogeneity with regard to specific health conditions, especially overweight and diabetes, which are driven by contemporary urban lifestyles in addition to genetic susceptibility. 14 We used nationally representative data to estimate and compare overweight and diabetes prevalence across 9 regions of birth, covering 100 countries and representing 16 million US immigrants.
