Abstract
Using data from Vietnamese-origin older immigrants/refugees in the Houston, Texas area, we assessed their overall health, chronic conditions, disability, depressive symptoms, and cognitive impairment, and examined the association between their chronic conditions and disability by comorbidity clusters. The mean age of the sample was 76 years old. The majority were married in fair/poor health with several chronic conditions and disabilities and lived with families in low-income households. Hypertension and arthritis were the most common health conditions, but cognitive impairment had the most significant impact on their disability. They experienced similar health conditions to other older Americans but had higher rates of depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment possibly due to cultural factors that may have delayed mental health treatment. Culturally and linguistically tailored services created by policymakers, healthcare professionals, and local social service agencies are recommended for the well-being of immigrants/refugees who migrated to the U.S. for a better life.
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Data Availability
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Not applicable.
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Acknowledgements
The authors appreciate the Executive Directors of VN TeamWork and BPSOS, as well as a countless number of Vietnamese key informants who facilitated years of sample recruitment. We thank all the Vietnamese older adults and their family caregivers who welcomed us to their homes and shared their health information despite their busy lives.
Funding
Miyawaki was partially funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute on Aging (NIA) Texas Resource Center for Minority Aging Research (RCMAR) (P30AG059301). Park’s time was funded by the NIA of the NIH under Award Number R24AG063718 and R56AG069130.
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Christina Miyawaki contributed to the study conception, C. Miyawaki, Joshua Garcia, and Kyriakos Markides developed the study design. C. Miyawaki prepared the materials guided by K. Markides. Kim Nguyen and C. Miyawaki collected data, and J. Garcia analyzed the data. The first draft of the manuscript was written by C. Miyawaki and J. Garcia, and K. Markides and Van Ta Park critically reviewed and edited the first manuscript. All authors commented on several versions of the manuscript, and read and approved the final manuscript.
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This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by the Ethics Committee of the University of Houston (July 4, 2017/STUDY00000419 for VACS Wave 1 and December 18, 2020/STUDY00002733 for VACS Wave 2).
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Miyawaki, C.E., Garcia, J.M., Nguyen, K.N. et al. Multiple Chronic Conditions and Disability among Vietnamese Older Adults: Results from the Vietnamese Aging and Care Survey (VACS). J. Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities 11, 1800–1807 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-023-01652-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-023-01652-z