Racial/ethnic disparities on self-reported hypertension in New York City: examining disparities among Hispanic subgroups.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate differences in self-reported hypertension among Hispanic subgroups as they compare to Asian, non-Hispanic Black and non-Hispanic White groups; and whether these differences depend on nativity status in the New York City Community Health Survey 2006-2008.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional.

SETTING: New York City.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Self-reported hypertension.

METHODS: Log-binomial regression was used to estimate the strength of the association between race/ethnicity and self-reported hypertension before and after adjusting for selected covariates.

RESULTS: In adjusted analyses, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans and Blacks had 17%, 28% and 34% greater probability of reporting hypertension than Whites. The association between race/ethnicity and self-reported hypertension appears to vary with nativity status/length of stay in the United States. (P=.08).

CONCLUSIONS: These findings underscore the need to investigate the prevalence of hypertension among subgroups of the Hispanic population. This issue is also relevant to Asians and Blacks, who are very heterogeneous populations regarding subgroups and nativity status.