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

Abstract #107173

Achintya Dey, MA, National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3311 Toledo Road, Mailstop- P08, Hyattsville, MD 20781, 301 458-4251, aad2@cdc.gov, Jacqueline Lucas, MPH, Division of Health Interview Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 6525 Belcrest Road, Room 850, Hyattsville, MD 20782, and Jeannine S. Schiller, MPH, Division of Health Interview Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics, 3311 Toledo Road, Room 2334, Hyattsville, MD 20782.

Objectives: The prevalence of selected chronic diseases and selected health behaviors associated with the onset of chronic disease, in Asian immigrant adults are compared with Asian-American adults. We also examine the effect of duration of U.S. residency on health outcomes for Asian immigrants. Methods: We used data from the 1998-2003 Sample Adult component of the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics to assess demographic and health characteristics of Asian immigrants. Data were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate techniques in the SUDAAN software package. Results: Preliminary age-adjusted results show that Asian immigrants have lower bed-disability days and lower rates of smoking and obesity than their U.S.-born counterparts. The results also demonstrate that older immigrants living in the U.S. for at least 10 years are more likely to be obese than recent immigrants (living in the U.S. less than 5 years). Conclusion: These results are consistent with the immigrant assimilation theory, which hypothesizes that as immigrants spend more time living in the U.S. they gradually tend to replace their health behaviors with those characteristic of the U.S. population.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the prevalence of selected chronic diseases and health behaviors in Asian immigrants and their U.S.-born counterparts.
• Identify the associations between legth of time in the U.S. and prevalence of chronic diseases and health behaviors in Asian immigrants.

Keywords: Asian Americans, Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.