Behind cancer, cardiovascular disease is the second leading cause of death among Chinese and Korean Americans and they experience higher mortality rates caused by stroke when compared to white Americans. According to a University of California, Irvine study, the longer these two immigrant populations live in the U.S., the greater their likelihood of having different cardiometabolic disease markers like high triglycerides, high cholesterol, and diabetes is.
Findings are published in the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities.
The researcher team, led by corresponding author Brittany Morey, PhD, assistant professor of health, society, and behavior at UCI Public Health, conducted surveys and collected blood samples of over 300 Chinese and Korean immigrants in the U.S. to examine the associations with two proxies for acculturation (years living in the U.S. and English speaking proficiency).
They looked at three types of cardiometabolic abnormalities – high triglyceride levels, high cholesterol, and diabetes – and used models to adjust for demographic characteristics including gender, Asian subgroup, and household income.
“Results from this novel study showed that, in general, higher levels of cultural assimilation were associated with more cardiometabolic abnormalities, though the associations varied depending on the measure of acculturation and the outcome,” Morey explained. “For example, those who lived in the U.S. for 23 or more years were more likely to have high triglycerides, an important biomarker for cardiovascular disease, than those who lived in the U.S. for less than 23 years. This suggests that living longer in the U.S. is a risk factor for uncontrolled levels of high triglycerides, even after accounting for age and other demographic and socioeconomic factors.”
Associations between English proficiency and metabolic abnormalities played out differently. While English proficiency was not associated with high triglycerides or diabetes, those who reported speaking English “so-so” were at 0.70 times lower risk for high cholesterol compared to those speaking English “fluently or well”.
The effect of cultural assimilation on cardiometabolic disease appeared to vary by income level as well, with results showing that living in the U.S. for a shorter amount of time was associated with 0.71 times lower prevalence of high cholesterol compared to those living in the U.S. longer, only among those earning $40,000 per year or more. For those with higher income, living longer in the U.S. may be a risk factor for Chinese and Korean American immigrants being able to consume richer foods that are high in cholesterol – a process known as “dietary acculturation.”
“Chinese and Korean Americans are two of the largest East Asian American groups in the U.S., but their health remains largely understudied,” Morey explained. “Our study fills critical gaps in literature by capturing the different aspects of acculturation in relationship to health, and how socioeconomic factors may play a role in persisting inequities.”
