Vulnerability or Resiliency? A Two-Wave Panel Analysis of Social Network Factors Associated with Glycemic Levels among Mexican Immigrants in the Bronx, NYC, Before and During COVID-19

Latinos have high rates of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) yet are characterized as having health-promoting social networks. The impacts of COVID-19 on personal networks were complex, especially in urban areas with high proportion of immigrants such as the Bronx in NYC. Our objective was to test the extent to which network characteristics increase vulnerability or resiliency for glycemic control based on data gathered from Mexican-origin Bronx dwellers. We used two-wave panel study analyzing self-reported personal social networks ( n =30 participants ; 600 network members ) and HbA1c levels via dried blood spots in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, and in 2021, a time after initial lockdowns and when the pandemic was still ravaging the community of study. Regression models adjusted for individual-level variables including sociodemographic and health indicators (i.e., physical health including COVID-19 and mental health). We found that an increase in the proportion of network members with diabetes predicted an increase in participant’s HbA1c levels from 2019 to 2021 ( β =0.044, p < 0.05). Also, a greater proportion of network members consuming “an American diet” in 2019 predicted a decrease in participant’s HbA1c levels ( β =−0.028, p < 0.01), while a greater proportion of network members that encouraged participants’ health in 2019 predicted an increase in participant’s HbA1c levels ( β =0.033, p < 0.05). Our study sheds light on specific social network characteristics relevant to individual diabetes outcomes, including potential longitudinal mechanistic effects that played out at the peak of the COVID-19 crisis.