Cardiovascular mortality of Chinese in New York City

To determine cardiovascular disease mortality among Chinese migrants in New York City and compare it to both that of residents in China and whites in New York City, mortality records for 1988 through 1992 for New York City and the 1990 US census data for New York City were linked. Age-specific death rates for urban China, reported by the World Health Organization, were used for comparison. The results show that male and female Chinese residents in New York City had lower mortality rates for all causes and total cardiovascular disease than did either New York City whites or Chinese in China. Coronary heart disease deaths among New York City Chinese were intermediate between Chinese in China (lowest) and New York City whites (highest). Stroke death rates for New York City Chinese were substantially lower than those in China and, in general, were similar to those for New York City whites. However, New York City Chinese had higher death rates for hemorrhagic stroke and lower for atherosclerotic stroke than did New York City whites. In conclusion, cardiovascular mortality rates among Chinese migrants in New York City fall below those of both Chinese in China and whites in New York City.