Puerto Ricans, followed by Mexicans living in the U.S., have higher rates of chronic illness compared to other Hispanics in the U.S., according to a report released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Nearly three-in-10 Puerto Rican adults and about one-in-five Mexican Americans have a chronic illness such as asthma, hypertension or coronary heart disease.
Puerto Rican adults were also twice as likely to report serious psychological distress in the past 30 days compared with Central or South American adults, (6.2 percent vs. 3.3 percent.)
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Cuban American, Central and South American as well as Mexican American adults, however, tend to have lower rates of multiple chronic illnesses than non-Hispanic adults. Less than 19 percent of Cuban American adults and about 17 percent of Central and South American adults have chronic illnesses, while nearly one-quarter of non-Hispanic adults have chronic illnesses.
The health status of Hispanic adults throughout the U.S. is consistently poorer compared to non-Hispanic adults.
Overall, 16.8 percent of Latino adults in the U.S. have fair or poor health ratings, while 11.9 percent of non-Hispanic adults have similar health qualities.
The CDC reports while more Latino adults are in poorer health, they have chronic health conditions less frequently. A little over one in five — or 21 percent of Hispanic adults — have had multiple chronic conditions, while 24.6 percent of non-Hispanic adults do. In the adult Puerto Rican population, however, 27.3 percent have or had multiple chronic illnesses.
