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Ethnicity and Cardiovascular Risk Factors Among Asian Americans Residing in Michigan

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Abstract

Asian Americans are at least 4% of the US population, but there are very few studies about the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors among this group. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death among Asian Americans in the United States. Limited research that studied cardiovascular risks among Asian Americans were available, therefore, more information is urgently needed. Cross-sectional surveys and blood tests were conducted at community-based health fairs in southeastern Michigan. A total of 388 Asian participants provided data for this analysis. The results showed that four Asian groups differ in the level of specific risk factors; in particular, the most urgent hypertension and cholesterol problems were found among Chinese and Filipino participants, while the risk of diabetes may be highest among the Hmong participants. The results from the multivariate analysis showed that after controlling for demographic and medical care-related factors in the model, ethnicity is still a significant predictor that contributed to the differences in CVD risks. The results show that cardiovascular and diabetes risks are high in the Asian American populations studied. Attention needs to be paid to the extent and nature of ethnic-specific health problems because each culture’s health-related habits and beliefs affect their entry into preventive care so that strategies can be designed and implemented to effectively reduce and ultimately eliminate health disparities.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for the work presented here was provided by the University of Michigan Wellness Program and the Michigan Department of Community Health. Nah-Mee Shin, PhD, RN presented partial results at the 2006 National Institutes of Health meeting on Reducing Disparities in Health. The leadership of the late Mei-yu Yu, PhD, MD (1944–2005) in obtaining and directing the early grants for this project is recognized with deep gratitude. We also appreciated HAAP team members and following individuals, Scott Chung, Dr. Ia Kue and Jean DuRussel-Weston for their hard work in the process of data collection and management. This publication was supported by funding from Michigan Department of Community Health. We thank the following community-based organizations for their assistance with this study: Vietnamese American Association of Michigan, Philippine American Community Center of Michigan, Korean American Cultural Center of Michigan, and Association of Chinese Americans-Michigan Chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Eastern Michigan University School of Nursing, 311 Everett L. Marshall Building, Ypsilanti, MI, 48197, USA

    Tsu-Yin Wu

  2. University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    Hsing-Fang Hsieh

  3. University of Michigan Department of Statistics, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    Jing Wang

  4. Michigan State University School of Nursing, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA

    Lan Yao

  5. University of Michigan School of Nursing, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    Deborah Oakley

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  1. Tsu-Yin Wu
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Correspondence to Tsu-Yin Wu.

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Wu, TY., Hsieh, HF., Wang, J. et al. Ethnicity and Cardiovascular Risk Factors Among Asian Americans Residing in Michigan. J Community Health 36, 811–818 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-011-9379-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-011-9379-1

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