A first-time national study on Latino health risks and causes of death by the Centers for Disease Control details new information on the risk factors, prevalence of some diseases and the difference in health between foreign born Latinos and U.S. born Latinos.

The "VitalSigns" report, titled "¡A la Buena Salud! – To Good Health!," outlined and broke down within Latino subgroups health risks as well as the leading causes of death in the Latino population in the United States.

Among the key findings of the study, which was released in May, is that foreign-born Latinos tend to be healthier, eat better, and smoke less than U.S. born Latinos. The gap was wider between those that had lived in the U.S. for a shorter period of time.

"It probably has to do with acculturation. Foreign-born Latinos tend not to eat high fatty foods, have better diets and have not caught on the idea of fast food," Dr. Kenneth Dominguez, lead author of the study and an epidemiologist, said to Latin Post. They also for the most part bring their habits from their home countries, he added.

Smoking is an area where the difference between the two groups is stark. Foreign-born Latinos tend to smoke less than U.S born Latinos and, though the rate of smoking overall among Latinos is lower compared White non-Hispanics, the rate of smoking among U.S.-born Latinos is much higher. According to Dr. Dominguez, 2 in every 10 deaths in the U.S. is caused by smoking.

This may be why cancer deaths are higher among U.S.-born Latinos than those Latinos born outside of the United States as detailed in the study.

Click here to listen to more from Dr. Dominguez about smoking in the Latino community.

Within the Latino subgroups there were vast differences in diabetes, rates of smoking, colorectal cancer screening and alcohol consumption.

Puerto Ricans had a higher rate of smoking similar to those of White non-Hispanics. At 21 percent, Puerto Ricans were statistically similar to Cubans with 18.2 percent. Mexicans came in at 13 percent and Central Americans are at a low 9.2 percent according to the report.

Which led, said Dr. Dominguez, to higher risks and death from cancer, heart disease and chronic hypertension.

The rate of diabetes among Mexicans and Puerto Ricans was high and both these groups had a 80 percent greater death rate than White non- Hispanics and Dr. Dominguez noted that this is most likely due to poor diet and the rates of obesity within the Latino population.

Another key finding among the subgroups is that Cubans tend to screen less for colorectal cancer than Puerto Ricans. If you break it down even further by gender, Cuban men are at 29 percent, women 49 percent, and for Puerto Rican men it is 54 percent, while with women it is 61 percent.

Dr. Dominguez stated that is probably likely because of lack of insurance for the costly procedure, which sometimes involves an anesthesiologist.

When it comes to alcohol consumption, Dr. Dominguez said, "Though Latinos tend to drink less than White non-Hispanics and this is consistent year after year, when they do drink, they do something called binge drinking. Which is drinking more than five drinks per week." This according to Dr. Dominguez leads to liver disease and a 50 percent higher death rate overall than White non-Hispanics. Among the sub-group Mexicans have an 80 percent higher death rate from chronic liver disease and cirrohasis.

But it is not only alcohol consumption that can lead to liver disease. Obesity is also a leading factor because fat deposits tend to sit in the liver for a longer period of time and can lead to liver cancer and liver disease as outlined by Dr. Dominguez.

The CDC detailed, among other things, the top causes of death among Latinos. In the top five, according to the report, are cancer, heart disease, unintentional injuries, stroke and diabetes. In the mid-1990s, cancer and heart disease switched as the number 1 and number 2 causes of death among Latinos. Dr. Dominguez does not know why exactly the switch happened. He was looking back at old data when he discovered the change. As far as unintentional injuries, according to the CDC, it is classified as an injury resulting from a car or bicycle accident.

Dr. Dominguez emphasized that Latinos can improve not just their health but their quality of life by doing moderate exercise 30 minutes a day or for 10 minutes, three times a day; limit or cease alcohol consumption; maintain a healthy diet with lots of fruits and vegetables; and stop tobacco use.