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Last Modified: May 23, 2007
Last Reviewed: May 23, 2007
Content Source:
Office of Minority Health & Health Disparities (OMHD) |
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Highlights in Minority Health
& Health Disparities
May, 2007
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MAY IS ASIAN
AMERICAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER HERITAGE MONTH |
| During the observance of Asian American
and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, we celebrate the
cultural traditions, ancestry, native languages, and unique
experiences represented among more than 47 ethnic groups from Asia
and the Pacific Islands (speaking over 100 languages) who live in
the United States. We also recognize millions of AAPIs whose love of
family, hard work, and community has helped unite us as a people and
sustain us as a Nation.1 |
| AAPIs
represent one of the fastest-growing and most diverse populations in
the United States.2 According
to 2003 President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and
Pacific Islanders (AAPIs), Report to the President and the
Nation, AAPIs encompass many populations that make
critically important contributions to American life. AAPI
communities often are stereotyped as a “model minority” that
generally enjoys superior health status. In reality, AAPI
individuals and families experience genuine health disparities in
cancer screening, diabetes, and infectious diseases, among others.
It is important to recognize that AAPI subpopulations have distinct
languages, cultures, histories, and politico-economic environments.3 |
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ASIAN AMERICANS |
Asian Americans
represent both extremes of socioeconomic and health indices:
While
9.8% of Asian Americans lived in poverty in 2004,
4
Asian
American women have the highest life expectancy (85.8 years) of any
other ethnic group in the U.S.
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While
Asian Americans have the highest proportion of college graduates of
any race or ethnic group
(44.1% of Asian Americans have a
bachelor’s degree, compared with 24.4% of the total population), 6
Asian
Americans
contend with numerous
factors which may threaten their health. Some negative factors are
infrequent medical visits due to the fear of deportation,
language/cultural barriers, and the lack of health insurance.
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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.5 |
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NATIVE HAWAIIANS
AND OTHER PACIFIC ISLANDERS (NHOPIs) |
The
U.S.-associated Pacific Island Jurisdictions
comprise
three Flag Territories:
| American Samoa |
| the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) |
| Guam |
and three Freely Associated States:
| The Federated States of
Micronesia (FSM) |
| The Republic of the
Marshall Islands (RMI) |
| The Republic of Palau3
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They are U.S. territories made up of hundreds of small islands and
atolls spread across about 5 million square miles of ocean—nearly
half the size of the United States—with a total population of
469,356 (1999 and 2000 estimates).7
Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders (NHOPIs) generally
experience poorer health than the American population as a whole.8
Major causes of premature death among NHOPIs are obesity,
cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and diabetes.3
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EXAMPLES OF
IMPORTANT DISPARITIES EXPERIENCED BY ASIAN AMERICANS
/ NATIVE HAWAIIANS & OTHER PACIFIC ISLANDERS |
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The incidence rates for liver and stomach cancer were
substantially higher among AAPIs than among other races in
1998-2002.* |
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Incidence Rates per 100,000 Population, US, 1998-2002
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African
American |
American
Indian and Alaska Native |
Asian American & Pacific Islander |
Hispanic/
Latino |
White |
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Stomach
Cancer |
12.9 |
12.0 |
15.9 |
13.0 |
7.4 |
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Liver
Cancer |
7.3 |
6.7 |
14.0 |
9.7 |
5.0 |
*Source:
National
Cancer Institute, Cancer Health Disparities: Fact Sheet, 2005
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The 5-year relative survival rate for all
cancers for Native Hawaiians is 47%, compared with 57% for whites
and 55% for all races.7 |
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In 2003, Asian American women (ages 18+)
were least likely to have had a Pap test (68.3%) compared with other
racial/ethnic women (non-Hispanic white: 79.3%, non-Hispanic black:
83.8%, Hispanic/Latino: 75.4%, American Indian/Alaska Native: 84.8%.
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In 2002, Native Hawaiians and Japanese and
Filipino residents of Hawaii aged twenty years or older were
approximately 2 times as likely to have diagnosed diabetes as white
residents of Hawaii of similar age. Prevalence data for diabetes
among other Pacific Islanders or Asian Americans are limited, but
some groups within these populations are at increased risk for
diabetes.10 |
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In 2002, the infant mortality rate for
Native Hawaiians was 9.6 per 1,000 live births, higher than the rate
for all AAPIs combined (4.8), and for all populations (7.0).11 |
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In 2002, the AIDS rate among AAPIs was 4.0
cases per 100,000 population. During 2003, 497 new AIDS cases were reported among AAPIs,
an increase of 9.9 percent over 2002 and of 34.7 percent over the
1999 level.12 |
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In 2001, AAPIs aged 40 years and older were 2.5 times more likely
to have Hepatitis B (14.2 per 100,000) than non-Hispanic whites
(5.6).13 |
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Of the 1.25 million Americans living with chronic
hepatitis B infection, approximately half are Asian American. In
2002, the hepatitis B-related death rate among Asian Americans was
six times higher than the rate among whites.
14. |
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In 2004, Asian Americans were 5.6 times
more likely to have tuberculosis than the total US population.
Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders (NHOPIs) were 3.3 times
more likely (Asian Americans: 27.6; NHOPIs: 16.3; Total US: 4.9).15 |
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The tuberculosis (TB) rate (cases per 100,000) in 2004
was 8.4 times higher in the U.S. Pacific Islands (41.4) than in the
mainland U.S. (4.9).16 |
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TB is 13 times more common among Asian subgroups such
as Cambodians, Chinese, Laotians, Koreans, Indians, Vietnamese, and
Filipinos than among the U.S. population.5 |
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FOR MORE
INFORMATION |
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Asian American Populations |
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Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Populations |
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President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific
Islanders (AAPIs), 2003 Report to the President and the Nation |
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White House Proclamation: Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month 2006 |
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SOURCES |
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1. |
The White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders,
President Celebrates APA Heritage Month at White House, 2002
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2. |
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Asian American and
Pacific Islander – Primer, 2006 |
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3. |
President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific
Islanders, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Addressing Health
Disparities: Opportunities for Building a Healthier America, 2003 |
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4. |
U.S. Census Bureau, Poverty in 2004 |
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5. |
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of
Minority Health (OMH), Asian American/Pacific Islander Profile |
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6. |
U.S. Census Bureau, Educational Attainment, 2000 |
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7. |
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center
for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP),
Health Disparities Among Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific
Islanders Garner Little Attention, Chronic Disease Notes and
Reports, 15 (2): 14-27 |
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8. |
CDC, Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities (OMHD), Native
Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander (NHOPI) Populations |
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9. |
CDC, NCHS, Health US 2005, table 87
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10. |
CDC, NCCDPHP, National Diabetes Fact Sheet, 2005 |
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11. |
CDC, National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Health United
States 2005, table 19 |
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12. |
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Asian/Pacific
Islanders and HIV/AIDS in the United States |
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13. |
HHS, OMH, Immunizations and Asians and Pacific Islanders, 2005 |
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14. |
CDC, National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID), Hepatitis B and
Asian Americans Fact Sheet |
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15. |
CDC, National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHSTP),
Reported Tuberculosis in the United States, 2004, table 16 |
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16. |
CDC, TB Among US-affiliated Pacific Island Jurisdictions, 2004 |
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