As an aggregate group, Asians in America appeared healthier than non-Hispanic whites, according to the study. But when researchers disaggregated the data, they uncovered a number of disparities, among them that Vietnamese respondents reported fair or poor health more than twice as often as non-Hispanic whites and Asians overall. Japanese respondents had a higher proportion of people who were obese or overweight than non-Hispanic whites and Asians overall, and Japanese and Koreans reported higher rates of diabetes than non-Hispanic whites and Asians overall.
Asian American Health Disparities
Tuberculosis (TB)
Tuberculosis (TB)
Overall, 9,421 TB cases were reported to CDC from the 50 states and the District of Columbia in 2014. In 2014, Asians accounted for 32% of the total number of reported TB cases in the United States. Asians born outside the United States represented 46% of the TB cases among foreign-born persons in 2014.
Overview
Asian Americans are most at risk for the following health conditions: cancer, heart disease, stroke, unintentional injuries (accidents), and diabetes. Asian Americans also have a high prevalence of the following conditions and risk factors: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hepatitis B, HIV/AIDS, smoking, tuberculosis, and liver disease. (Minority Health)
Diabetes
Diabetes and Asian Americans
- Asian Americans are 40 percent more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes than non-Hispanic whites.
- Asians are 80 percent more likely to be diagnosed with end stage renal disease than non-Hispanic whites.
- From 2013-2015, Asian American women were almost 3 times more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes, as compared to non-Hispanic white women.
Diagnosed Cases of Diabetes
| Age-adjusted percentage of persons 18 years of age and over with diabetes, 2018 | ||
| Asian American | Non-Hispanic White | Asian American / Non-Hispanic White Ratio |
| 11.4 | 8.0 | 1.4 |
Source: CDC 2019. Summary Health Statistics: National Health Interview Survey: 2018. Table A-4a.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/shs/tables.htm
Diabetes Resourcesr Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders
Hepatitis
Hepatitis and Asian Americans
In the United States, one study reports that approximately half of the 1 million persons with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection are Asian/Pacific Islanders, most of whom became infected with HBV before arriving in the United States.
- In 2015, Asian Americans were 1.7 times more likely to contract hepatitis A, as compared to whites.
- Among all ethnic groups in 2015, Asian/Pacific Islanders had the highest incidence of hepatitis A.
- Asian Americans are twice as more likely to develop chronic hepatitis B, as compared to whites.
- 2016 surveillance shows that Asian Americans were eight times more likely to die from hepatitis B than non-Hispanic whites.
VIRAL HEPATITIS
|
|
Asian/Pacific
Islander |
Non-Hispanic
White |
Asian/Pacific Islander / Non-Hispanic White
Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Male
|
1.5
|
2.3
|
0.7
|
|
Female
|
1.1
|
1.1
|
1.0
|
|
Total
|
1.3
|
1.7
|
0.8
|
Source: CDC, 2017. Deaths: Final data for 2015. National vital statistics reports; vol. 66, no.6. Table 10 and Table I-27.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr66/nvsr66_06.pdf [PDF | 2.65MB]
Cancer
Top Cancer Sites for Asian Americans (2012-2016)
| Cancer Incidence Rates per 100,000 – Men | |||
| Cancer | Asian/Pacific Islander Men |
Non-Hispanic White Men |
Asian/Pacific Islander/ Non-Hispanic White Ratio |
| All Sites | 301.1 | 505.5 | 0.6 |
| Colon & Rectum | 37.9 | 44.1 | 0.8 |
| Liver & IBD | 19.9 | 10.8 | 1.8 |
| Lung | 46.3 | 67.5 | 0.7 |
| Pancreas | 10.8 | 15.1 | 0.7 |
| Prostate | 55.6 | 104.5 | 0.5 |
| Stomach | 14.3 | 8.2 | 1.7 |
Source: NCI 2020. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2016. Tables 2.15 through 24.15
https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2016/sections.html
Top Cancer Sites for Asian Americans (2012-2016)
| Cancer Incidence Rates per 100,000 – Women | |||
| Cancer | Asian/Pacific Islander Women | Non-Hispanic White Women |
Asian/Pacific Islander/ Non-Hispanic White Ratio |
| All Sites | 299.7 | 448.0 | 0.7 |
| Breast | 100.0 | 136.6 | 0.7 |
| Cervical | 6.4 | 6.6 | 1.0 |
| Colon & Rectum | 26.9 | 34.3 | 0.8 |
| Liver & IBD | 7.4 | 3.7 | 2.0 |
| Lung | 28.2 | 56.0 | 0.5 |
| Pancreas | 9.1 | 11.5 | 0.8 |
| Stomach | 8.2 | 3.8 | 2.2 |
| Uterus | 20.8 | 28.5 | 0.7 |
Source: NCI 2020. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2016. Tables 2.15 through 24.15
https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2016/sections.html