Impact of acculturation and its factors on metabolic syndrome in South Asian American adults from two community health centers

Aim Associations among sociodemographic, economic, dietary, and biological factors in metabolic syndrome (MetS) outcomes are complex and multifactorial in a diverse group of South Asian (SA) Americans. Acculturation factors (language, identity, friendship, and behavior) may also be associated with MetS in SA Americans. The objective was to ascertain the degree of acculturation and whether acculturation factors (language, identity, friendship, and/or behavior) are associated with MetS in SA Americans by gender. Subjects and methods Clinical and demographic data were collected from a cross-section of 401 apparently healthy, 18–70-year-old patients, who visited two community health centers (May 2014 through June 2013) in Maryland. Discriminant analysis was performed to identify the acculturation variables that were associated in patients with and without MetS by gender. Results We categorized 190 male and 211 female subjects into Asian (traditional) (80 %) and Western (or adopting American culture) (20 %) acculturation groups based on the SL-Asia scale. Of the two groups, MetS was higher in the Asian-acculturated (44 %) than the Westernized group 29 % ( P