Integrating Biomarkers into Research with Latino Immigrants in the United States

Heather H. McClure, J. Josh Snodgrass, Charles R. Martinez. Jr., J. Mark Eddy, Thomas W. McDade, Melanie J. Hyers, Anne Johnstone-Díaz

Center for Equity Promotion, College of Education, University of Oregon, Eugene, USA.
Department of Anthropology and Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, USA.
Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, USA.
Department of Romance Languages, University of Oregon, Eugene, USA.
Family Resource Center, Bethel School District, Eugene, USA.
School of Social Work, University of Washington, Seattle, USA.

DOI: 10.4236/aa.2013.32015                

Abstract

Despite extensive research into the toll of persistent psychosocial stress on individual physiology and health, little is known about the effects of chronic biosocial stress for immigrant populations. In the present paper, the authors review challenges encountered when integrating minimally-invasive stress-related biomarkers (e.g., blood pressure, Epstein-Barr Virus [EBV] antibodies, C-reactive protein [CRP], and salivary cortisol), as well as anthropometric (e.g., height, weight, waist circumference) and metabolic measures (e.g., glucose, cholesterol), into research with Latino immigrant adults and families in Oregon, USA. Finally, the authors present lessons learned and discuss strategies to support the full engagement of Latino immigrants as participants in studies that rely on the collection of biological data as a central component of research into psychosocial stress and its effects.

Keywords

Biomarker; Latino; Immigrant; Psychosocial Stress

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Adam, E. K., & Kumari, M. (2009). Assessing salivary cortisol in large-scale, epidemiological research. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 34, 1423-1436. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2009.06.011
[2]	Brotanek, J. M., Gosz, J., Weitzman, M., & Flores, G. (2007). Iron deficiency in early childhood in the United States: Risk factors and ethnic/racial disparities. Pediatrics, 120, 568-575. doi:10.1542/peds.2007-0572
[3]	Byrne, C. D., & Wild, S. H. (2005). Review of the metabolic syndrome. Chichester, West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. doi:10.1002/0470025131
[4]	Capps, R., Fix, M. E., & Passel, J. S. (2002). The dispersal of immigrants in the 1990s: Policybrief #2. http://www.urban.org/publications/410589.html
[5]	Chobanian, A. V., Bakris, G. L., Black, H. R., Cushman, W. C., Green, L. A., Izzo Jr., J. L. et al. (2003). Seventh report of the Joint National Committee on prevention, detection, evaluation, and treatment of high blood pressure. Hypertension, 42, 1206-1252. doi:10.1161/01.HYP.0000107251.49515.c2
[6]	Dallman, M. F., Pecoraro, N., Akana, S. F., la Fleur, S. E., Gomez, F., Houshyar, H. et al. (2003). Chronic stress and obesity: A new view of “comfort food”. Proceedings of the National Academy of Scienes, 20, 11696-11701. doi:10.1073/pnas.1934666100
[7]	DeSantis, A., Adam, E., Doane, L., Mineka, S., Zinbarg, R., & Craske, M. (2007). Racial/ethnic differences in cortisol diurnal rhythms in a community sample of adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 41, 3-13. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.03.006
[8]	DeVogli, R., Brunner, E., & Marmot, M. G. (2007). Unfairness and the social gradient of metabolic syndrome in the Whitehall II Study. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 63, 413-419. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2007.04.006
[9]	Dressler, W. W., Oths, K. S., & Gravlee, C. G. (2005). Race and ethnicity in public health research: Models to explain health disparities. Annual Review of Anthropology, 34, 231-252. doi:10.1146/annurev.anthro.34.081804.120505
[10]	Ford, E. S., Loucks, E. B., & Berkman, L. F. (2006). Social integration and concentrations of C-reactive protein among US adults. Annals of Epidemiology, 16, 78-84. doi:10.1016/j.annepidem.2005.08.005
[11]	Glaser, R., Pearson, G. R., Jones, J. F., Hillhouse, J., Kennedy, S., Mao, H. et al. (1991). Stress-induced activation of Epstein-Barr virus. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 5, 219-232. doi:10.1016/0889-1591(91)90018-6
[12]	Grundy, S. M., Cleeman, J. I., Daniels, S. R., Donato, K. A., Eckel, R. H., Franklin, B. A. et al. (2005). Diagnosis and management of the metabolic syndrome: An American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Scientific Statement. Circulation, 112, 2735-2752. doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.105.169404
[13]	Henle, W., & Henle, G. (1982). Epstein-Barr virus and infectious mo nonucleosis. In R. Glaser, & T. Gottleib-Stematsky (Eds.), Human herpesvirus infections: Clinical aspects (pp. 151-162). New York: Marcel Dekker.
[14]	Jones, J. F., & Straus, S. E. (1987). Chronic Epstein-Barr virus infection. Annual Review of Medicine, 38, 195-209. hdoi:10.1146/annurev.me.38.020187.001211
[15]	Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., Malarkey, W., Cacioppo, J. T., & Glaser, R. (1994). Stressful personal relationships: Endocrine and immune function. In R. Glaser & J. K. Kiecolt-Glaser (Eds.), Handbook of human stress and immunity (pp. 321-339). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
[16]	Kirschbaum, C., & Hellhammer, D. H. (2000). Salivary cortisol. In G. Fink (Ed.), Encyclopedia of stress (Vol. 3, pp. 379-384). San Diego: CA: Academic Press.
[17]	Lohman, T. G., Roche, A. F., & Martorell, R. (Eds.) (1988). Anthropometric standardization reference manual. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics Books.
[18]	Lopez, M. H., & Taylor, P. (2010). Latinos and the 2010 census: The foreign born are more positive. http://pewhispanic.org/files/reports/121.pdf
[19]	Martinez Jr., C. R. (2006). Effects of differential family acculturation on Latino adolescent substance use. Family Relations, 55, 306-317. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3729.2006.00404.x
[20]	Martinez Jr., C. R., & Eddy, J. M. (2005). Effects of culturally adapted parent management training on Latino youth behavioral health outcomes. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73, 841-851. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.73.5.841
[21]	Martinez Jr., C. R., McClure, H. H., & Eddy, J. M. (2009). Language brokering contexts and behavioral and emotional adjustment among Latino parents and adolescents. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 29, 71-98. doi:10.1177/0272431608324477
[22]	Martinez Jr., C. R., McClure, H. H., Eddy, J. M., Ruth, B., & Hyers, M. J. (2012). Recruitment and retention among Latino immigrant families in Oregon in prevention research. Prevention Science, 13, 15-26. doi:10.1007/s11121-011-0239-0
[23]	McClure, H. H., Martinez Jr., C. R., Snodgrass, J. J., Eddy, J. M., Jiménez, R., Isiordia, L. E. et al. (2010a). Discrimination-related stress, blood pressure, and Epstein Barr Virus antibodies among Latin American immigrants in Oregon. Journal of Biosocial Science, 42, 433-461. doi:10.1017/S0021932010000039
[24]	McClure, H. H., Snodgrass, J. J., Martinez Jr., C. R., Eddy, J. M., Jiménez, R. A., & Isiordia, L. E. (2010b). Discrimination, psychosocial stress, and health among Latin American immigrants in Oregon. American Journal of Human Biology, 22, 421-423. doi:10.1002/ajhb.21002
[25]	McClure, H. H., Snodgrass, J. J., Martinez Jr., C. R., Eddy, J. M., Midttveit, E. C., & Jiménez, R. A. (2010c). Psychosocial stress exposure and salivary cortisol among Latino immigrants in Oregon. Denver, CO: Society for Prevention Research Annual Conference.
[26]	McClure, H. H., Snodgrass, J. J., Martinez Jr., C. R., Squires, E. C., Jiménez, R. A., Isiordia, L. E. et al. (2012). Stress, place, and allostatic load among Mexican immigrant farmworkers in Oregon. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, Submitted.
[27]	McDade, T. W. (2007). Measuring immune function: Markers of cell mediated immunity and inflammation in dried blood spots. In G. H. Ice, & G. D. James (Eds.), Measuring stress in humans: A practical guide for the field. Cambridge: University Press.
[28]	McDade, T. W., Burhop, J., & Dohnal, J. (2004). High sensitivity en zyme immunoassay for C-reactive protein in dried blood spots. Clinical Chemistry, 50, 652-654. doi:10.1373/clinchem.2003.029488
[29]	McDade, T. W., Stallings, J. F., Angold, A., Costello, E. J., Burleson, M., Cacioppo, J. T., et al. (2000). Epstein-Barr Virus antibodies in whole blood spots: A minimally invasive method for assessing an aspect of cell-mediated immunity. Psychosomatic Medicine, 62, 560-567.
[30]	McDade, T. W., Williams, S., & Snodgrass, J. J. (2007). What a drop can do: Dried blood spots as a minimally invasive method for inte grating biomarkers into population-based research. Demography, 44, 899-925. doi:10.1353/dem.2007.0038
[31]	McEwen, B. S. (2000). Allostasis and allostatic load: Implications for neuropsychopharmacology. Neuropsychopharmacology, 22, 108-124. doi:10.1016/S0893-133X(99)00129-3
[32]	McEwen, B. S., & Wingfield, J. (2003). The concept of allostatis in biology and biomedicine. Hormones and Behavior, 43, 2-15. doi:10.1016/S0018-506X(02)00024-7
[33]	Midttveit, E. C., McClure, H. H., Snodgrass, J. J., McDade, T. W., Martinez Jr., C. R., Eddy, J. M. et al. (2010). Body composition and lifestyle correlates of high sensitivity C-reactive protein among Latino immigrants in Oregon. American Journal of Human Biology, 22, 263.
[34]	National Institutes of Health (NIH) (2001). NIH policy and guidelines on the inclusion of women and minorities as subjects in clinical research. http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/women_min/guidelines_amended_10_2001.htm
[35]	National Institutes of Health (NIH) (2002). Outreach notebook for the inclusion, recruitment and retention of women and minority subjects in clinical research. URL (last checked 12 May 2009). http://orwh.od.nih.gov/pubs/outreach.pdf
[36]	Nazmi, A., & Victora, C. G. (2007). Socioeconomic and racial/ethnic differentials of C-reactive protein levels: A systematic review of population-based studies. BMC Public Health, 7, 212. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-7-212
[37]	Pepys, M. B., & Hirschfeld, M. (2003). C-reactive protein: A critical update. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 111, 1805-1812. doi:10.1172/JCI18921
[38]	Pollard, T. M., & Ice, G. H. (2007). Measuring hormonal variation in the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis: Cortisol. In G. H. Ice, & G. D. James (Eds.), Measuring stress in humans: A practical guide for the field. Cambridge: University Press.
[39]	Rexrode, K. M., Pradhan, A., Manson, J. E., Buring, J. E., & Ridker, P. M. (2003). Relationship of total and abdominal adiposity with CRP and IL-6 in women. Annals of Epidemiology, 13, 674-682. doi:10.1016/S1047-2797(03)00053-X
[40]	Ridker, P. M., Buring, J. E., Shih, J., Matias, M., & Hennekens, C. H. (1998). Prospective study of C-reactive protein and the risk of future cardiovascular events among apparently healthy women. Circulation, 98, 731-733. doi:10.1161/01.CIR.98.8.731
[41]	Rumbaut, R. G., & Portes, A. (2001). Ethnicities: Children of immigrants in America. New York: Sage.
[42]	Ryan, A. M., Gee, G. C., & Laflamme, D. F. (2006). The association between self-reported discrimination, physical health and blood pressure: Findings from African Americans, Black immigrants, and Latino immigrants in New Hampshire. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 17, 116-132. doi:10.1353/hpu.2006.0092
[43]	Sapolsky, R. M., Romero, L. M., & Munck, A. U. (2000). How do glucocorticoids influence stress responses? Integrating permissive, suppressive, stimulatory, and preparative actions. Endocrine Reviews, 21, 55-89. doi:10.1210/er.21.1.55
[44]	Sattar, N., McConnachie, A., Shaper, A. G., Blauw, G. J., Buckley, B. M., de Craen, A. J. et al. (2008). Can metabolic syndrome usefully predict cardiovascular disease and diabetes? Outcome data from two prospective studies. Lancet, 371, 1927-1935. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(08)60602-9
[45]	Selye, H. (1956). The stress of life. New York: McGraw-Hill.
[46]	Smokowski, P. R., & Bacallao, M. L. (2007). Acculturation, internalizing mental health symptoms, and self-esteem: Cultural experiences of Latino adolescents in North Carolina. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 37, 273-292. doi:10.1007/s10578-006-0035-4
[47]	Squires, E. C., McClure, H. H., Martinez Jr., C. R., Eddy, J. M., Jimenez, R. A., Isiordia, L. E. et al. (2012). Diurnal cortisol rhythms among Latino immigrants in Oregon. Journal of Physiological An thropology, 31, 19. doi:10.1186/1880-6805-31-19
[48]	Steffen, P. R., Smith, T. B., Larson, M., & Butler, L. (2006). Acculturation to Western Society as a risk factor for high blood pressure: A meta-analytic review. Psychosomatic Medicine, 68, 386-397. doi:10.1097/01.psy.0000221255.48190.32
[49]	The Urban Institute (2010). Children of immigrants data tool. Minnesota Population Center Integrated Public Use Microdata Series. http://datatool.urban.org/charts/datatool/pages.cfm
[50]	US Census Bureau (2011). 2011 Population estimates. http://www.census.gov/popest/data/national/asrh/2011/index.html
[51]	Vega, W. A., & Kolody, B. (1985). The meaning of social support and the mediation of stress across cultures. In W. A. Vega, & M. R. Miranda (Eds.), Stress and Hispanic mental health: Relating research to science delivery (pp. 48-75). Rockville, MD: National Institute of Mental Health.
[52]	Vega, W. A., Sribney, W., Aguilar-Gaxiola, S., & Kolody, B. (2004). 12-month prevalence of DSM-II-R psychiatric disorders among Mexican Americans: Nativity, social assimilation, and age determinants. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 192, 532-541. doi:10.1097/01.nmd.0000135477.57357.b2
[53]	Villarruel, A. M., Jemmott, L. S., Jemmott, J. B., & Eakin, B. L. (2006). Recruitment and retention of Latino adolescents to a research study: Lessons learned from a randomized clinical trial. Journal for Spe cialists in Pediatric Nursing, 11, 244-250. doi:10.1111/j.1744-6155.2006.00076.x
[54]	Vitaliano, P. P., Scanlan, J. M., Zhang, J., Savage, M. V., Hirsch, I. B., & Siegler, I. C. (2002). A path model of chronic stress, the Metabolic Syndrome, and coronary heart disease. Psychosomatic Medicine, 64, 418-435.
[55]	Weigensberg, M. J., Toledo-Corral, C. M., & Goran, M. I. (2008). Association between the Metabolic Syndrome and serum cortisol in overweight Latino youth. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 93, 1372-1378. doi:10.1210/jc.2007-2309
[56]	Williams, D. R., Neighbors, H. W., & Jackson, J. S. (2003). Racial/ ethnic discrimination and health: Findings from community studies. American Journal of Public Health, 93, 200-208. doi:10.2105/AJPH.93.2.200