Type-2 diabetes is likely the outcome of cumulative risk factor exposures and their subsequent underlying, pathophysiologic consequences over the life course. In the US, Latinos are disproportionately burdened by type-2 diabetes. We hypothesize that the disparities in type-2 diabetes among Latinos reflect the combined effect of intergenerational transmission of socioeconomic position (SEP), culture, behavior, biology, and other risk factors that accumulate over the life course. Our proposed research will be the first study to assess the unique and synergistic contributions of life course SEP and acculturation on type-2 diabetes in two generations of Latinos. This project will take advantage of a unique opportunity to examine the influence of life course SEP and acculturation on type-2 diabetes by combining socioeconomic, cultural, and clinical data collected annually over a decade as part of the Sacramento Area Latino Study on Aging (SALSA, R01 AG12975) representing the first generation (GEN1), combined with proposed novel data collection from the SALSA participant’s adult offspring (GEN2). Our proposed research provides an unprecedented opportunity to identify targets for intervention, supporting our long-term goal of reducing disparities in type-2 diabetes among Latinos in the US. More broadly, the proposed research may uncover crucial life course socioeconomic and cultural patterning of risk or health-promoting factors that may benefit other racial/ethnic minorities suffering from type-2 diabetes. The specific aims are to:

AIM 1. Evaluate the impact of life course SEP on type-2 diabetes among SALSA participants (GEN1) and their adult offspring (GEN2).

AIM 2. Evaluate whether cultural orientation modifies the association between lifetime SEP and type-2 diabetes among GEN1 and GEN2.

AIM 3. Examine whether inflammatory biomarkers and metabolic syndrome are associated with behavioral, physiological, and psychosocial risk factors among GEN1 and GEN2. We will also assess whether the inflammatory biomarkers and metabolic syndrome mediate the relationship between lifetime SEP or cultural orientation and type-2 diabetes.