Background. Health disparities clearly exist among different Asian immigrant groups, even though Asian immigrants tend, as a group, to be (mis)perceived as relatively healthy. Objective. The present study was intended (1) to identify health disparities among major groups of Asians in the United States; and (2) to determine if such disparities are moderated by immigration status. Methods. We analyzed pooled National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data dating 1992–2015, surveying health status among immigrant and U.S.–born Asians. (Data pooling addressed the infrequency of several chronic illnesses.) Because data describing smaller ethnic groups is scarce, we chose just 4 Asian subgroups for study: Chinese, Filipino, Asian Indian, and other Asian. Results. We found generally that Asians as a whole reported fewer specified illnesses and relatively good self-rated health compared to Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics. The 4 Asian subgroups under study, however, reported specified illnesses at nonuniform rates, all of which diverged from rates reported by Whites, Blacks, or Hispanics. Of the 4, U.S.–born Asian Indians reported diabetes/prediabetes at a rate lower than that of any other group of Asians or non-Asians. In contrast, prevalence of diabetes/prediabetes among immigrant Asian Indians approached 5 times that of U.S.–born Asian Indians and exceeded that for some other immigrants (e.g., White, Chinese). Conclusions. Our descriptive results tend to counter the so-called healthy immigrant effect, which is an overgeneralization often applied to all immigrant groups, including all Asian immigrant groups. Our analyses showed variation in Asians’ health, both by ethnicity and immigration status.

background: Food insecurity is a significant public health problem in low-income and certain immigrant populations. Limited literature examines the prevalence of food insecurity and its health consequences amongst Asian Americans (AA).
purpose: To examine the association between food insecurity and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in a large, ethnically diverse sample of AA in New York City (NYC).
methods: Total sample from the CDC’s REACH US dataset included Chinese (n=2674), Korean (n=538) Asian Indian (n=307) and other Asian American ethnicities (n=420) aged 18 years and older and living in NYC (average age: 50.1 years, 56.4% female, 88.5% foreign-born). Analyses examined the association between food insecurity (self-report of worry or stress about access to nutritious food), and poor HRQOL, assessed for general, physical and mental health.
results: Nearly one-third of the sample reported food insecurity: Korean participants having highest prevalence of food insecurity (~42%). In multivariable models adjusted for education and income, those reporting food insecurity were significantly more likely to have poor HRQOL. Among Chinese, Koreans and Asian Indians, food insecurity was respectively associated with 2.94 (95% CI: 2.22, 3.97), 2.21(95% 1.17, 4.19) and 9.02 (95% CI: 2.67, 30.5) times higher odds of 14 or more poor mental health days with 1.66 (95% CI: 1.25, 2.20), 1.71 (95% CI: 0.99, 2.97) and 4.02 (95% CI: 1.49, 10.8) higher odds of 14 or more poor physical health.
conclusion: Food insecurity amongst Asian Americans in NYC is over twice the national average, and is strongly associated with poor HRQOL, independent of socioeconomic status.

Background:

Asian Indians (AIs) in the United States (2^nd largest Asian subgroup) have high prevalence of diabetes despite low rates of associated risk factors. Yet, national prevalence of diabetes is missing as published studies are not population-based or limited by geographical locations/age groups.

Objective: To estimate age-adjusted prevalence of diabetes among AIs in the United States compared to Non-Hispanic Whites (NHWs).

Methods: Disaggregated (since 2011) Asian sub-groups data for multiple years (2012-2016) from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) were obtained. Multivariable logistic regression examined prevalence adjusting for known risk factors (age, sex, BMI, physical activity, smoking, and socio-economic status). 2010 US census figures were used for age-sex standardization.

Results: Study sample consisted of 109,072 NHWs and 1,986 Asian Indians. 49.7% age of AIs were > 65 years, and 46.1% were obese (WHO BMI cut points) vs. 27.4% of NHWs (standard BMI cut points). AIs were more likely to exercise and less likely to smoke compared to NHWs. Age-adjusted multivariable logistic regression indicated that AIs had higher odds ratios of reporting diabetes compared to NHWs (AOR = 1.39, 95% CI = 1.12,1.71, p < .01). This association remained strong and significant even after controlling for other risk factors in the model (AOR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.16, 1.85 p < 0.01). Age-sex adjusted prevalence of diabetes was 8.3% in AIs and 5.8% in NHWs.

Conclusion: Given the causal link between obesity and diabetes and higher obesity prevalence among AIs, appropriate strategies to reduce obesity in Asian Indians are warranted.

Background: Despite the increasing burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the growing immigrant and aging population, research to understand CVD health in older Asian Americans (AA), and Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (NHPIs) by disaggregated subgroups is sparse. We aim to describe the prevalence and explore determinants of CVD among AA/NHPI older adults.

Methods: The analytic sample consisted of 655,914 community-dwelling older adults aged 65 and older who self-reported being AA/NHPI or NHW, from the 2011-2015 baseline cohorts of the Medicare Health Outcomes Survey. Data were disaggregated for 10 AA/NHPI subgroups and include 24,088 AAs, 4,871 NHPIs, and 3,937 Multiracial AA/NHPIs. We focused on the following self-reported CVD diagnoses: coronary artery disease (CAD), congestive heart failure (CHF), myocardial infarction (MI), and stroke. Multivariable logistic regression was used to explore determinants of CVD.

Results: Among the 10 minority subgroups, Native Hawaiians (33.6%) had the highest prevalence of one or more CVD diagnoses. Within AA/NHPI subgroups, CAD prevalence was highest for Asian Indians (15.0%) and CHF prevalence was highest for Pacific Islanders (11.3%). Native Hawaiians had the highest prevalence of MI (11.5%), and stroke (12.1%). Compared to NHWs, AA subgroups and Pacific Islanders had significantly lower odds for all CVD diagnoses, while Native Hawaiians had significantly higher odds of stroke [adjusted OR (95% CI) = 1.22 (1.02, 1.45)] and significantly lower odds of CAD [adjusted OR (95% CI) = 0.81 (0.69, 0.96)].

Conclusions: CVD prevalence varied among subgroups, with the highest CVD prevalence and heightened risk of stroke for Native Hawaiians.