Spiritual well-being, religious activity, and the metabolic syndrome: results from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos Sociocultural Ancillary Study

Sociocultural risk and protective factors for developing the metabolic syndrome (MetS), a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), have not been well studied in Hispanics/Latinos residing in the United States (U.S.). Religiosity and/or spirituality (R/S), important aspects of Hispanic/Latino culture, have been inversely associated with CVD and multiple CVD risk factors. Cross-sectional associations between dimensions of R/S and prevalent MetS, and its five individual components were examined using multiple logistic and linear regression, among 3278 U.S., middle-aged and older Hispanic/Latino adults from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos Sociocultural Ancillary Study. Dimensions of R/S were not associated with presence of the MetS. Certain dimensions of Spiritual Well-being (Meaning, Peace, Faith), and frequency of non-organizational religious activity were weakly but significantly associated with one or more MetS components including waist circumference, diastolic blood pressure, and systolic blood pressure. R/S variables were not associated with triglycerides, fasting glucose or HDL cholesterol levels. Prospective, longitudinal studies are needed to gain a deeper understanding of the nature of the relationship between R/S and health risk factors in U.S. Hispanics/Latinos.