Asian-American

Asian Americans are not homogeneous. Rather, they are diverse ethnic groups originating from approximately 52 different Asian countries from the Far East, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. Among all Asian Americans there are common traits, such as strong family values, emphasis on education, preserving traditions, and valuing personal relationships. However, there are many differences in language and culture among Asian American groups as well. In fact, there are more than 800 spoken languages and dialects among the Asian population. Approximately 75% of Asian Americans speak a language other than English. In addition, they vary in cultural, traditional, and religious differences among each Asian subgroup. They have different socioeconomic characteristics, wide selections of food, methods of cooking, clothing, practices of religion, and forms of entertainment. They face new challenges and barriers as they try to improve their standard of living, such as experiencing dramatic cultural shocks, learning to speak a new language, and isolation from their communities. Particularly, the older generation of immigrants finds it harder to adapt to the Western ideologies than the younger generation of immigrants. This disparity creates a generation gap.

Health Disparities among Asian Americans

1. Cancer and cardiovascular disease are the two leading causes of death for Asian Americans in the U.S.
2. For Asian American women, cancer is the leading cause of death in the U.S., due to the fact that Asian American women have the lowest cancer screenings rates and are usually diagnosed at a later stage compared to other racial and ethnic groups.
3. Hepatitis B is one of the largest health threats for Asians. Asian Americans account for over half of deaths resulting from chronic Hepatitis B infection in the U.S.  They are 3 to 13 times more likely to die from liver cancer caused by Hepatitis B than Caucasians. More specifically, Chinese Americans are 6 times at higher risk of dying from liver cancer compared to Caucasians, while Korean Americans are at 8 times higher risk, and Vietnamese Americans are at 13 times higher risk.
4. Mental health problems in the Asian American community are disturbingly high, yet its services are inadequate.  For example, Asian women aged 65 years and over have the highest suicide rate in the country compared with any other population in that age group.  Also, Asian American adolescent girls reportedly have the highest rates of depressive symptoms compared to girls of other ethnicities.  In addition, many Southeast Asian refugees are at risk of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) associated with trauma experienced before and after immigration to the United States.
5. Asian women have a high risk of Osteoporosis.  The average calcium (essential nutrient for bone health) intake among Asian women has been observed to be half that of Western population groups.  As many as 90% of Asian Americans are lactose intolerant or cannot easily digest dairy products.
6. Asian Americans have a higher prevalence of tuberculosis (TB) than all other racial and ethnic groups.
7. Asian American youth in grades 7 through 12 have the highest increase in smoking rates of any racial and ethnic group.