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Nativity Differences in Behaviors Associated with High-Risk HPV Infection Among Hispanic Women in Houston, Texas, USA

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Abstract

While Hispanics in the U.S. are a population with significant within-group heterogeneity, epidemiologic studies often aggregate Hispanics into one homogenous group without considering differences by nativity. The objective of this study is to evaluate nativity differences in the risk behavior profile associated with prevalent high risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) among U.S.- and foreign-born Hispanic women. Using a clinical trial dataset, we compare risk behavior and HR-HPV infection patterns among U.S.- and foreign-born participants and assess factors associated with infection in each group. While the prevalence of HR-HPV infection was similar among U.S.- and foreign-born participants, U.S.-born cases had a higher HR-HPV risk profile. The similar prevalence of HR-HPV despite foreign-born women’s lower risk profile suggests a role for unmeasured risk factors among foreign-born Hispanics. More importantly, nativity differences in behavioral risk factors associated with HR-HPV suggest the need to further research cervical cancer risk factors among disaggregated Hispanic subgroups.

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Acknowledgments

This research is supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (Grant P01CA082710, PI: M. Follen). J.R.M. is supported by a UTHealth Innovation for Cancer Prevention Research Postdoctoral Fellowship (The University of Texas School of Public Health—Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas grant # RP101503). The content of this manuscript is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health or the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environmental Sciences, The University of Texas School of Public Health, Houston, TX, USA

    Jane R. Montealegre

  2. Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, MS: BCM 305, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Jane R. Montealegre & Michael E. Scheurer

  3. Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

    Michael E. Scheurer

  4. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Paul L. Foster School of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, El Paso, TX, USA

    Michele Follen

Authors
  1. Jane R. Montealegre
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  2. Michele Follen
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  3. Michael E. Scheurer
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Correspondence to Jane R. Montealegre.

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Montealegre, J.R., Follen, M. & Scheurer, M.E. Nativity Differences in Behaviors Associated with High-Risk HPV Infection Among Hispanic Women in Houston, Texas, USA. J Immigrant Minority Health 15, 836–841 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-012-9770-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-012-9770-8

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