Cardiovascular Risk Factors among Asian Americans: Results from a National Health Survey

Abstract

PURPOSE We assessed the prevalence of major cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors among Chinese, Asian Indian, Filipino, and other Asian populations compared to non-Hispanic Whites in the United States. METHODS We analyzed aggregated data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) from 2003 to 2005. Bivariate analyses were used to determine differences in the prevalence of CVD risk factors among Asian subgroups and white adults. Logistic regression analyses were also conducted to compare each Asian subgroup with white adults after taking sociodemographic variables into account. RESULTS The unadjusted prevalence of physical inactivity was highest among Asian Indians and other Asians. After we controlled for covariates, Asian Indians still had higher odds of physical inactivity than Whites (odds ratio [OR] = 1.50, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.22–1.84). All Asian ethnic groups were significantly less likely than Whites to report smoking, obesity, and binge drinking. Compared with Whites, Filipinos were more likely to have hypertension (OR = 1.18, 95% CI = 1.02–1.44) and Asian Indians were more likely to have diabetes (OR = 2.27, 95% CI = 1.63–3.20). CONCLUSION Although Asian race was generally associated with lower risk for CVD, certain risk factors were particularly high among some Asian subgroups. Future interventions should specify the needs of specific subgroups and design culturally specific programs to reduce health risk behaviors in each Asian subpopulation.

The Association of Duration of Residence in the United States with Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors Among South Asian Immigrants

“…In California, South Asian men ages 25-44 years have three times the relative risk of death from CVD in comparison to the age-matched general population [4]. Epidemiologic studies have documented that South Asian immigrants have higher prevalence of medical CVD risk factors than the general population, such as diabetes, dyslipidemia, and metabolic syndrome, possibly due to a genetic predisposition to insulin resistance and central adiposity [6,9,11,[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]. They also have high rates of behavioral CVD risk factors, including physical inactivity and diets low in fruits and vegetables [9, 23-25, 28, 30, 31].…”

Awareness, Treatment and Control of Hypertension Among Filipino Immigrants

“…3 Of particular concern are the consistently high rates of hypertension among Filipinos, the third largest Asian American population in the U.S. 4 The 2004-2006 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) found that Filipino adults were most likely to have ever been told that they had hypertension when compared to other Asian groups, with a prevalence of 27 %. 5,6 Additionally, several regional studies conducted among Filipinos indicate that this population possesses a disproportionately higher burden of hypertension compared with whites and other Asian American groups. [7][8][9][10][11][12] According to data from the 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination (NHANES), Filipinos have a 41 % prevalence of hypertension, 3 a rate that is approaching that of black adults in the U.S. who have consistently been shown to have high BP.…”

The association of religiosity with overweight/obese body mass index among Asian Indian immigrants in California

“…Compared to other racial/ethnic groups in the U.S., Asian Indians have greater risk of obesity-related conditions, such as diabetes mellitus and coronary heart disease (Flowers et al, 2010;Holland et al, 2011;Joshi et al, 2007;Misra et al, 2010;Mohanty et al, 2005;Palaniappan et al, 2010). Physical inactivity, diets low in fruits and vegetables, and a genetic predisposition to insulin resistance and central adiposity are believed to contribute to this disparity (Daniel and Wilbur, 2011;Fernandez et al, 2011;Ghai et al, 2012;Joshi et al, 2007;Ye et al, 2009).…”