Associations between Fatalistic Beliefs and Cardiometabolic Health Risk Indicators in Latinas

Fatalism – or the belief that health and other important life circumstances are predetermined by fate and unalterable by personal action – has been linked with poor health behaviors and outcomes, particularly among Latinos. Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) disproportionally affects Latinas, who are thus at higher risk for developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).  Latinas also endorse fatalistic beliefs more commonly than other ethnic groups. However, research investigating associations between fatalism and diabetes risk or outcomes in Latinas is lacking. “Dulce Mothers” is a peer-educator delivered educational lifestyle intervention designed to prevent T2DM in women with GDM history. A pilot study conducted among 77 Spanish-speaking Latinas, 18 to 45 years, recruited from a federally qualified San Diego health center showed that the Dulce Mothers intervention reduced diabetes risk indicators across 6 months. The current study will investigate the relationship between fatalism and clinical health indicators in the Dulce Mothers pilot sample. It is hypothesized that fatalism will be associated with less optimal values of clinical indicators of cardiometabolic risk, including lipids, hemoglobin A1C, fasting blood glucose, blood pressure, and body mass index at baseline and with less improvement on clinical indicators of cardiometabolic risk across time.  Linear regression analyses will be conducted in SPSS to examine associations between fatalism and clinical indicators at baseline and over time.  A better understanding of fatalism's role in health disparities can potentially contribute to the design and implementation of future interventions to delay or prevent the onset of T2DM in Latinas with GDM history.