Ethnicity and Cardiovascular Risk Factors Among Asian Americans Residing in Michigan

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.