Risk Factors of Hypertension among Adult Asians in Los Angeles County: Findings from Los Angeles County Health Survey

Background: Hypertension is associated with morbidity and mortality from many diseases, including coronary heart disease, which is the leading cause of death in Los Angeles County (LAC). However, little is known about hypertension in ethnic Asian subgroups, a rapidly growing population in the US.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of hypertension among adult (18+ years) Asians in LAC and the risk factors associated with it.

Methods: Data were collected during 2005-2011 through three cycles of Los Angeles County Health Survey, a population-based random digit-dial telephone survey. The sample included 2,430 Asians (46.1% males; native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders excluded). Descriptive analysis was conducted to describe the prevalence of hypertension and other factors. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to examine the associations between hypertension and demographic characteristics (age and gender), socio-economic status (education and FPL), acculturation proxies (nativity, number of years living in the US, and language used most at home), BMI, physical activity, smoking and drinking.

Results: This sample contains 34.8% Chinese, 19.3% Korean, 13.0% Filipino, 11.0% Japanese, 6.9% Vietnamese, 6.8% South Asian and 8.2% other Asian. The weighted age-adjusted prevalence of hypertension was 23.6% among all Asians, with the lowest among Vietnamese (19.6%), Chinese (20.5%), Korean (22.1%), South Asian (22.5%), Other Asian (23.0%), Japanese (23.6%), and the highest among Filipino (34.0%). Factors significantly associated with higher prevalence of hypertension in all Asian groups combined included overweight (OR=2.06, 95%CI=1.52, 2.79) or obesity (OR=3.08, 95%CI=1.75, 5.42), smoking (OR=1.49, 95%CI=1.07, 2.09), 0-99% FPL (OR=1.62, 95% CI=1.06, 2.48), and age (OR=2.67, 95%CI=1.62, 4.38; OR=6.17, 95%CI=3.95, 9.65; and OR=18.50, 95%CI=11.65, 29.37; respectively for ages of 40-49, 50-64, and 65+ years).

Conclusion: Risk factors for hypertension in ethnic Asian subgroups mirror those in the population at large. Culturally sensitive approaches should be incorporated into evidence based interventions to prevent and control hypertension.