Skin color and mortality risk among men: the Puerto Rico Heart Health Program

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Published on: September 7, 2013

Luisa N Borrell1, Carlos J Crespo, Mario R Garcia-Palmieri

  • 1Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA. lnb2@columbia.edu

Annals of Epidemiology
|March 31, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Darker skin color was linked to higher mortality risk in urban Puerto Rican men, suggesting environmental factors influence health outcomes. This highlights potential disparities in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk.

Area of Science:

  • Epidemiology
  • Public Health
  • Social Determinants of Health

Background:

  • Skin color is a complex trait potentially linked to health outcomes.
  • Environmental and socioeconomic factors may influence mortality risk.
  • Understanding these associations is crucial for public health interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between skin color and mortality in Puerto Rican men.
  • To assess all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD)-related mortality risks.
  • To examine these associations before and after adjusting for various risk factors.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from 5,304 men in the Puerto Rican Heart Health Program (PRHHP).
  • Ascertained mortality through hospital records, death certificates, and next-of-kin information.
  • Analyzed associations between skin color and mortality, considering area of residence and adjusting for covariates.

Main Results:

  • Darker-skinned men had higher age-adjusted mortality rates than lighter-skinned men.
  • No overall association between skin color and all-cause or CVD mortality was found.
  • In urban areas, dark-skinned men faced a 28% higher risk of all-cause mortality after adjustments, but no such link for CVD mortality.

Conclusions:

  • Skin color may act as a proxy for environmental dynamics affecting mortality.
  • Environmental factors, particularly in urban settings, may mediate the association between skin color and mortality risk.
  • Further research is needed to elucidate the specific environmental influences.
Abstract

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