A longitudinal analysis of incidence of hypertension and blood pressure measurements by age of migration among older Hispanic men and women

Objective To conduct a longitudinal analysis of incidence of self-reported hypertension and blood pressure measurements among foreign-born Hispanics by age of migration, compared to US-born populations. Methods The sample was drawn from 2002-2018 of the Health and Retirement Study and included 22,909 individuals. Subsets of this sample were used to conduct a longitudinal analysis of the incidence of hypertension and mean blood pressure measurements. Results Foreign-born Hispanic women migrating at age 40 and older had a greater incidence of hypertension and a greater increase in systolic blood pressure as they aged compared to US-born Whites. Discussion In contrast to the Hispanic Paradox that suggests better health among Hispanic immigrants despite lower socioeconomic status, this was not observed among older Hispanic immigrants for hypertension. Furthermore, older Hispanic women who migrated later in life had a greater incidence of hypertension and greater increases in systolic blood pressure as they aged compared to US-born White women.