Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #106171

David H. Chae, MA¹, Amelia R. Gavin, PhD, MSW², and David Takeuchi, PhD². (1) Department of Society, Human Development, and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Ave, 7th Floor, Boston, MA 02115-6028, (206) 685-0560, hchae@hsph.harvard.edu, (2) University of Washington, 4101 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105-6299

Although previous large scale studies indicate that Asian Americans have the lowest prevalence of smoking among major ethnic groups, estimates obtained from these studies face several limitations. Such studies may have systematically excluded or underrepresented non-English speaking populations by their exclusive use of English language instruments. In addition, a lack of adequate sample size has often prohibited examining inter-ethnic group and nativity-related differences in smoking, obscuring heterogeneity in smoking patterns between Asian American subgroups. To improve smoking prevalence estimates in this population, data from the National Latino and Asian American Study (NLAAS; 2002-2003) was used to estimate the prevalence of current and lifetime smoking among Asian American groups. We found that 27.9% of Asian Americans were ever smokers (including current and former smokers). An overall current smoking prevalence of 13.3% was found, with notable differences by ethnic ancestry, gender, and education. We also found evidence for effect moderation by gender and nativity. While foreign-born men had a higher prevalence of current smoking than US-born men (22.1% vs. 16.8%), foreign-born women had a lower prevalence of smoking than US-born women (5.1% vs. 12.2%). In addition, a clear education gradient in smoking prevalence was apparent among men but not among women. Results indicate that the prevalence of current smoking exceeds that of the general US population for some Asian American groups, highlighting the importance of disaggregating Asian American smoking statistics. Findings suggest that some Asian American groups are at greater risk for smoking, and underscore the need for tailored interventions that address differential smoking patterns by gender, nativity, and other social characteristics.

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