Health status of Asian Americans: United States, 1992-94.

Abstract

Objectives: This report compares the health status of selected Asian national origin groups.

Methods: 1992-94 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) data were analyzed for six Asian national origin groups (Chinese, Filipino, Asian Indian, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Korean), the Asian and Pacific Islander (API) population as a whole, and the non-Hispanic white population. Unadjusted and age-adjusted estimates and standard errors of health indicators and sociodemographic characteristics were generated. A broad range of health issues was studied including respondent-assessed health status, activity limitation, physician contacts, restricted activity days, hospital episodes, smoking status, and knowledge of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

Results: A greater age-adjusted percent of Vietnamese (17.2 percent) and Korean (12.8 percent) persons had fair or poor respondent-assessed health status than persons of Chinese, Filipino, and Japanese descent (6.1-7.4 percent). A lower age-adjusted percent of Chinese persons (6.5 percent) experienced activity limitation compared with Filipino, Japanese, and Vietnamese persons (9.4-13.2 percent). Japanese persons (4.9 contacts) had a greater average annual number of physician contacts than Chinese persons (3.1 contacts) after age adjusting the data. When the data were age adjusted, a higher percent of Korean adults (22.5 percent) were current smokers than Chinese (10.0 percent) and Asian Indian adults (8.7 percent). A higher age-adjusted percent of Vietnamese (21.2 percent) and Asian Indian (18.0 percent) adults reported knowing nothing about AIDS compared with Japanese adults (5.1 percent). A greater proportion of Vietnamese adults (91.6 percent) had not been tested for the AIDS virus infection compared with Chinese, Filipino, Asian Indian, and Japanese adults (72.6-78.5 percent) after age adjusting the data.

Conclusions: Differences in health emerge when data on the API population are analyzed by national origin group. Estimates of health presented for the API population as a whole mask differences among subgroups.