Objective: To assess the association between short maternal height and four types of mother–child nutritional status groupings within Mexican households. Design: We classified mother–child dyads into four groups: stunted child and a non-overweight/non-obese mother (stunting-only), non-stunted child and an overweight/obese mother (overweight-only), stunted child with an overweight/obese mother (double-burden) and households with neither child stunting nor overweight/obese mothers (neither-condition). We assessed the association between maternal height and mother–child nutrition status using multinomial logistic regression, controlling for socio-economic covariates. Setting: Nationally representative cross-section of households from the 2012 Mexican National Health and Nutrition Survey. Participants: Children <5 years of age were matched to their mothers, resulting in a sample of 4706 mother–child dyads. Results: We found that among children with stunting, 53·3% have an overweight/obese mother. Double-burden was observed in 8·1% of Mexican households. Maternal short stature increased the probability of stunting-only by 3·5% points (p.p.) and double-burden by 9·7 p.p. (P < 0·05). The inverse association was observed for overweight-only and neither-condition households, where the probability of these outcomes decreased by 7·2 and 6 p.p. in households with short-statured mothers (P < 0·05), respectively. Conclusions: Women with short stature are more likely to develop overweight and simultaneously have a stunted child than those who are not short-statured. Our findings underline the challenges faced by public health systems, which have to balance the provision of services for both an undernourished and increasingly overweight/obese population.

Objective To estimate the avoidance of Medicaid enrollment among Latino and Asian immigrants due to fears about immigration status. In 2019, changes to the “public charge” rule made it difficult for immigrants to receive a green card or permanent residence visa, particularly for those who used health and nutrition benefits. Despite the Biden administration's reversal of these changes, fear and misinformation persist among immigrants. Data Sources Pooled data from the 2017 to 2020 California Health Interview Survey. Study Design We used adjusted predicted probability models to estimate differences in access to and use of health care and health insurance coverage among Latino and Asian immigrant adults with and without green cards, using US citizens as the reference. We estimated the avoidance of Medicaid enrollment among immigrants without a green card, the immigrant population subject to the public charge rule. Data Collection/Extraction Methods Population stratified by race/ethnicity and green card status. Principal Findings Latino immigrants without a green card were −23.1% (CI: −27.8, −18.4) less likely to be insured, −9.2% (CI: −12.8, −5.5) less likely to have Medicaid coverage, −9.3% (CI: −14.5, −4.1) less likely to have a usual source of care, and −8.4% (CI: −13.2, −0.3) less likely to have a physician visit relative to citizens. Asian immigrants without a green card were −11.7% (CI: −19.7, −3.72) less likely to be insured, −8.8% (CI: −11.6, −6.1) less likely to have Medicaid coverage, −11.6% (CI: −19.3, −3.9) less likely to have a usual source of care, and −11.0% (CI: −19.2, −2.3) less likely to have a physician visit. Between 107,956 and 192,905 Latino immigrants and 1294 and 4702 Asian immigrants in California likely avoided Medicaid enrollment due to fears about their immigration status. Conclusion While our estimates are lower than those of previous studies, our findings highlight barriers to health care for immigrants despite the reversal of the changes in the public charge rule. Since the public charge rule was not abolished, immigrants with low incomes might choose not to seek health care, despite recent efforts in California to expand Medicaid coverage to all eligible immigrants regardless of documentation statuses.

has disproportionally affected underrepresented minorities (URM) and low-income immigrants in the United States. The aim of the study is to examine the underlying vulnerabilities of Mexican immigrants in New York City (NYC) and Los Angeles (LA), its correspondence with area-level COVID-19 morbidity and mortality, and to document the role of trusted and culturally sensitive services offered during the pandemic through the Ventanillas de Salud (i.e. VDS, Health Windows) program. The study uses a mixed-methods approach including a cross-sectional survey of Mexican immigrants in LA and NYC collected in the Mexican Consulates at the onset of the pandemic, complemented with a georeferencing analysis and key informant interviews. Data suggested an increased vulnerability to COVID-19 given participants reported health status, health care profile and place of residence, which coincided with the georeferencing analysis. The key informant interviews confirmed the vulnerability of this population and the supporting role of VDS in helping immigrants navigate health systems and disseminate health information. Mexican immigrants had an increased vulnerability to COVID-19 at the individual, geographic and systemic levels. Trusted and culturally sensitive services are needed to overcome some of the barriers and risk factors that increase the vulnerability of URM and immigrant populations to COVID-19.

Objectives. To assess the association between childhood hunger experiences and the prevalence of chronic diseases later in life. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted using baseline data from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSI-Brazil), a nationally representative study of persons aged 50 years and older (n = 9 412). Univariate and bivariate analyses were used to describe the sample, and multivariate logistic regressions to examine the association between childhood hunger and hypertension, diabetes, arthritis and osteoporosis. Adjusted odds ratios and predicted probabilities were calculated. Results. 24.7% of Brazilians aged 50 and over experienced hunger during childhood. This harmful exposure was significantly more common among non-white people, individuals with lower educational attainment, lower household income and heavy manual laborers. Regional variation was also observed, as the prevalence of individuals reporting childhood hunger was higher in the North and Northeast regions. The multivariate analysis revealed that older adults who reported having experienced hunger during childhood had 20% higher odds of developing diabetes in adulthood (aOR = 1.20, 95% CI: 1.02 – 1.41) and 38% higher odds of developing osteoporosis (aOR = 1.38, 95% CI: 1.15 – 1.64) than adults who did not experience hunger during childhood, after controlling for covariates. Conclusions. The study showed an association between childhood hunger and two chronic diseases in later life: diabetes and osteoporosis. This work restates that investing in childhood conditions is a cost-effective way to have a healthy society and provides evidence on relationships that deserve further investigation to elucidate underlying mechanisms.

Objective: To analyze whether state-level social programs for older adults (OAs) in Mexico are associated with a reduction: (a) in the prevalence of severe food insecurity (SFI) and (b) in the magnitude of the effect of municipal marginalization on SFI. Method: Cross-sectional study based on urban OAs (65–100 years) from the 2010 census. Three-level logistic multilevel regression models were estimated to explain SFI. Results: Controlling for individual and municipal characteristics, states with social programs for OAs are generally associated with lower SFI prevalences (odds ratio [OR] = 0.68 [0.48, 0.95]) and mitigate the effect of marginalization on SFI when compared with states with no programs. Compared with in-kind food programs and voucher-based programs, monetary transfers are associated with a significant reduction in SFI prevalence (OR = 0.68 [0.46, 0.99]). Conclusion: States with programs for OAs, mainly monetary transfers, are associated with lower SFI prevalences.