Heart Disease Prevention Practices among Immigrant Vietnamese Women

Abstract

Background: Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death in the United States as well as in many countries around the world, including Vietnam. Methods: Using data from a household survey of Vietnamese American women aged 20-79 years in Seattle, Washington, collected in 2006 and 2007, we examined heart disease prevention practices. Multivariable analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between demographic factors and preventive behaviors. Results: A total of 1523 immigrant women completed interviews. The average daily consumption of fruits and vegetables was 3.5 servings, and 31% of our sample reported being physically active (engaging in at least 30 minutes of physical activity 5 or more days per week). Few respondents reported being current smokers (1.5%). Over three quarters of women had received a recent blood pressure check and a recent cholesterol check. Age and length of time in the United States were strongly associated with several cardiovascular prevention behaviors. Conclusions: Our findings confirm the need for continued efforts to develop and implement targeted educational campaigns to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease among Vietnamese American women.

Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Behavior Among Asian Americans: A Thematic Analysis

“…Next, in Yang and Mills’ study, 28 results indicated that very few Hmong Americans (<10%) reported eating fresh F & V daily and percentage of daily consumption of leafy vegetables was even lower (<5%); however, if F & V were in-season, more than a half of the participants stated that they would consume them. Another study 27 examining heart disease prevention lifestyles among Vietnamese American female immigrants found that the average daily consumption of F & V was 3.5 servings. Zhao et al 29 examined hypertension-related lifestyles among the US women with self-reported hypertension, and found that less than 5% of AA women consumed 8 or more servings of F & V per day (based on recommended dietary guidelines of American Heart Association).…”

Physical, Behavioral, and Mental Health Issues in Asian American Women: Results from the National Latino Asian American Study

“…32 In fact, foreign-born status, lower acculturation, female gender, and large family size have been associated with smoking at home. 33 Also, the study by Coronado et al 34 conducted in the Seattle area found that Vietnamese American women are less engaged in physical activities and also found a positive association between smoking and acculturation.…”

Health Risk Behaviours by Immigrants’ Duration of Residence: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Asian immigrant men in particular had decreased risks of smoking with longer residence [31,65,70,81,106,123], while findings for Latino/ Hispanic men were less conclusive [39,106,123,124]. Increased risks of smoking with longer residence appeared for immigrant women of unspecified origin [32,52,89,100,102,144], and of African [74], Asian [31,53,106,117,123,145] and Latino/ Hispanic origin [106,123].…”

“…Studies examining indicators of physical activity were reverse interpreted. North American evidence on changes in general physical inactivity by duration of residence varied from increased [98,110,113,119,127,[133][134][135]142] to decreased [34,51,53,54,59,62,78,115,148] risks. Two European studies suggested either no change or increased inactivity with time [87,108].…”