Chronic Disease
Health disparities are differences in the incidence, prevalence, mortality, and burden of disease among specific population groups. Providers can use their knowledge of health disparities in AAPI patients to hone their prevention strategies and anticipate potential clinical problems in this group of patients.
This session considers most important health disparities of AAPI populations. We will examine leading causes of death and look at some of the diseases with high incidence and prevalence among AAPI populations: cancer, cardiovascular disease (including hypertension, diabetes, and obesity), infectious disease, and mental health.
As in both white and black populations, the three leading causes of death in AAPI populations are cancer, coronary artery disease, and cerebral vascular disease. For AAPIs, cancer is the leading cause of death. In fact, AAPIs are the only population group for whom cancer is the leading cause of death.
Cancer
While Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders experience lower cancer rates overall compared with other minority groups, they do experience higher incidence and death rates for certain cancers. In 2000, the incidence of liver cancer in AAPIs was 13.8 per 100,000 compared to 4.8 for whites. The incidence of stomach cancer was 17.3 compared to 7.7 for whites (National Cancer Institute 2003). It is essential to note that AAPIs are not a homogenous population and contain subgroups that have different cancer rates.
- Nasopharyngeal cancer is high among Chinese.
- Japan, Korea, and China have the highest rates of gastric cancer in the world.
- The cervical cancer rate of Vietnamese women is nearly five times higher than that of white women.
- Native Hawaiian women have the third-highest breast cancer mortality rate in the US.
- Vietnamese men have the highest rate of liver cancer, which is usually caused by chronic hepatitis B infection.
- The lung cancer rate among Southeast Asians is 18% higher than among white Americans.
|
< prev | next >
|
