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C. Annette DuBard, MD, MPH and Ziya Gizlice, PhD

C. Annette DuBard is with the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Ziya Gizlice is with the Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to C. Annette DuBard, MD, MPH, Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 725 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7590 (e-mail: adubard{at}schsr.unc.edu).

Objectives. We examined self-reported health status, health behaviors, access to care, and use of preventive services of the US Hispanic adult population to identify language-associated disparities.

Methods. We analyzed 2003 to 2005 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data from 45 076 Hispanic adults in 23 states, who represented 90% of the US Hispanic population, and compared 25 health indicators between Spanish-speaking Hispanics and English-speaking Hispanics.

Results. Physical activity and rates of chronic disease, obesity, and smoking were significantly lower among Spanish-speaking Hispanics than among English-speaking Hispanics. Spanish-speaking Hispanics reported far worse health status and access to care than did English-speaking Hispanics (39% vs 17% in fair or poor health, 55% vs 23% uninsured, and 58% vs 29% without a personal doctor) and received less preventive care. Adjustment for demographic and socioeconomic factors did not mitigate the influence of language on these health indicators.

Conclusions. Spanish-language preference marks a particularly vulnerable subpopulation of US Hispanics who have less access to care and use of preventive services. Priority areas for Spanish-speaking adults include maintenance of healthy behaviors, promotion of physical activity and preventive health care, and increased access to care.

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