CV risk factors, mortality rate vary among Asian Indian, Chinese, and Filipino American adults
Filipino American men had the highest cardiovascular (CV) mortality rate, at 248.3 per 100,000 people, compared with all other groups studied, an analysis of CDC data showed.
Cardiovascular risk factors and disease mortality vary significantly among Asian Indian, Chinese, and Filipino Americans, with Filipino Americans having the highest mortality rates across most cardiovascular conditions, a study found.
Researchers assessed death certificate data in the CDC WONDER database from 2019 to 2023. They also determined age-standardized mortality rates (deaths per 100,000 population) by sex-specific age adjustment to 2023 American Community Survey population estimates. Findings were published by Annals of Internal Medicine on July 29.
Overall age-standardized mortality rates were highest among Filipino Americans for both females (175.6 deaths per 100,000 population [95% CI, 172.8 to 178.3]) and males (248.3 [95% CI, 244.3 to 252.2]). Looking specifically at cardiovascular mortality, rates were similar between Asian Indian American (157.7 [95% CI, 154.4 to 160.9]) and Chinese American (155.4 [95% CI, 153.1 to 157.8]) women. However, among men, Asian Indian Americans had higher rates than Chinese Americans (184.1 [95% CI, 181.0 to 187.2] vs. 170.1 [95% CI, 167.6 to 172.6]).
Analyses stratified by cardiovascular subtype found that Filipino American women had higher mortality due to stroke (48.4 [95% CI, 46.9 to 49.8]), hypertension (27.0 [95% CI, 25.9 to 28.1]), and diabetes (27.7 [95% CI, 26.6 to 28.8]) compared with Asian Indian and Chinese American women. Filipino American women had similar mortality due to heart disease as Asian Indian American women (109.9 [95% CI, 107.7 to 112.0] vs. 111.2 [95% CI, 108.5 to 114.0]), while Asian Indian American females had higher mortality due to heart disease (111.2 [95% CI, 108.5 to 114.0] vs. 96.9 [95% CI, 95.1 to 98.8]) and diabetes (21.6 [95% CI, 20.4 to 22.8] vs. 16.1 [95% CI, 15.3 to 16.8]) than Chinese American females but lower rates of stroke (34.6 [95% CI, 33.1 to 36.1] vs. 41.3 [95% CI, 40.1 to 42.5]) and hypertension (21.2 [95% CI, 20.0 to 22.4] vs. 25.5 [95% CI, 24.6 to 26.5]). Men had higher age-standardized mortality risk than women across all cardiovascular subtypes, while differences among male Asian American subpopulations were similar to females.
Limitations include that researchers were unable to assess the potential impact of socioeconomic factors, lifestyle behaviors, and access to care on mortality rates. “A high proportion of Indian and Chinese Americans are immigrants, and thus have unique cultural, social, and societal challenges that affect their health,” the authors wrote. The COVID-19 pandemic also took place during the study period and may have affected findings, they cautioned.
Overall, “Asian Indian, Chinese, and Filipino Americans have distinct cardiovascular health challenges, and targeted public health efforts to reduce cardiovascular mortality are necessary,” the authors concluded.