Increasing risk of hepatocellular carcinoma with successive generations in the United States among Mexican American adults: The Multiethnic Cohort

Background US‐born Latinos have a higher incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) than foreign‐born Latinos. Acculturation to unhealthy lifestyle behaviors and an immigrant self‐selection effect may play a role. In this study, the authors examined the influence of generational status on HCC risk among Mexican American adults. Methods The analytic cohort included 31,377 self‐reported Mexican Americans from the Multiethnic Cohort Study (MEC). Generational status was categorized as: first‐generation (Mexico‐born; n = 13,382), second‐generation (US‐born with one or two parents born in Mexico; n = 13,081), or third‐generation (US‐born with both parents born in the United States; n = 4914). Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression was performed to examine the association between generational status and HCC incidence. Results In total, 213 incident HCC cases were identified during an average follow‐up of 19.5 years. After adjusting for lifestyle and neighborhood‐level risk factors, second‐generation and third‐generation Mexican Americans had a 37% (hazard ratio [HR], 1.37; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.98–1.92) and 66% (HR, 1.66; 95% CI, 1.11–2.49) increased risk of HCC, respectively, compared with first‐generation Mexican Americans (p for trend = 0.012). The increased risk associated with generational status was mainly observed in males (second‐generation vs. first‐generation: HR, 1.60 [95% CI, 1.05–2.44]; third‐generation vs. first‐generation: HR, 2.08 [95% CI, 1.29–3.37]). Conclusions Increasing generational status of Mexican Americans is associated with a higher risk of HCC. Further studies are needed to identify factors that contribute to this increased risk. Each successive generation of Mexican Americans is more likely to have higher prevalence of lifestyle factors associated with hepatocellular carcinoma (e.g., greater alcohol consumption, smoking, and higher body mass index). However, even after adjusting for these factors and neighborhood variables, there is an increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma with increasing generations, particularly among males.