Hypertension Among Asian Americans: Associations With Measures of Acculturation

Abstract

 We examined the association between multiple measures of acculturation and objectively measured hypertension among three Asian American groups. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 584 Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese adults. Acculturation was measured by years in the U.S., English fluency, and self-rated identity. Hypertension prevalence was 29.1%. Individuals who self-rated as “bicultural/westernized” were less likely to have hypertension as compared to those who self-rated as “Very Asian”. In the subgroup analysis, significant association between acculturation as measured by self-rated identity and hypertension was only observed among Chinese participants. Future research can benefit by acknowledging the multidimensional effects of acculturation on hypertension.