We investigated whether darker interviewer-ascribed skin color is associated with worse cardiometabolic health among young adult Blacks and Hispanics in the United States. Our sample was comprised of 2,128 non-Hispanic Blacks and 1603 Hispanics aged 24-32, who were in high school in the United States in 1994. We used logistic and OLS regression to predict obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and cardiometabolic risk. We tested the interaction between Hispanic immigrant generation and ascribed skin color. Darker ascribed skin color predicted worse cardiometabolic health among both young adult Blacks and Hispanics. Among Hispanics, the associations were strongest among third and higher generation respondents. Our findings suggest that among US Blacks and Hispanics how individuals are perceived by others via their skin color is significantly associated with their health and well-being. Gradients in cardiometabolic health in young adulthood will likely contribute to gradients in cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality later in life. © 2016, Springer Science+Business Media New York.

Race/ethnicity Skin color/tone black Cardiometabolic health Hispanic/Latino

demography blood pressure Continental Population Groups ancestry group human epidemiology Ethnic Groups diabetes mellitus statistics and numerical data obesity ethnic group health status hypertension ethnology African American Hispanic Americans Residence Characteristics Cross-Sectional Studies United States cross-sectional study Humans glycosylated hemoglobin Hispanic male female Socioeconomic Factors risk factor Risk Factors socioeconomics Glycated Hemoglobin A adult skin pigmentation body mass Body Mass Index African Americans