health issues common to Asian/Asian Americans

[deez nuts]

since, i've basically sinned twice in the last two threads i concocted, i figure i redeem myself, somewhat, and not put shame to achtungbaby for making me a mod.

anyhow, asians are prone to certain medical conditions and there is also incidences of an increase of certain medical conditions in the asian population. hopefully, we all can chip in and compile an ongoing list. by doing so, we can use this as a source of information and possible reference for ourselves and for a loved one.

i guess i'll start:

1)lactose intolerance i read somewhere that anywhere between 70-90% of asians suffer from lactose intolerance to some degree or another.

2)tuberculosis is like 12-13 times more common in asian populations in asian countries

3)diabetes is on the rise in asian populations. i forgot the numbers.

4)HIV is on the rise in asian populations

5)Hepatitis B is more common in asian populations

6)asian women are at higher risk of cervical cancer when compared to white women, i think specifically in the vietnamese population.

7)high incidence of tobacco use in asian countries

8)treatment of psychological disorders

7)breast cancer is on the rise amongst asian women both here in the USA and in asia. i think native hawaiin women have the highest mortality rate from breast cancer in the USA.

8)asian women are more proned to osteoporosis due to their lower bone mass and density because of a significantly lower intake of calcium compared to other groups.

9)asian and hapa-asian donor matching issues i.e. bone marrow transplants

[deez nuts]

i guess, i'll pin this thread.

AB and Kasia have i atoned myself?

oh and feel free to discuss in detail on a matter that interests you or have questions about whether it's listed or not listed.

[deez nuts]

forgot to add:

the big four types of cancer:

cervical cancer: asian women have a low frequency of pap smears performed a year. yet cervical cancer is on the rise. there's a high incidence of cervical cancer in the vietnamese population. cervical cancer is the leading type of cancer affecting korean women

breast cancer: breast cancer is the number one cancer related mortality amongst asian women, yet asian women show the lowest frequncy of screening and early detection rate of all ethnic groups. there has been no signs of breast cancer mortality declines in the last 10 or so years. other ethnic groups have shown a significant decline in breast cancer related mortality over the years.

lung cancer: the biggest mass advertising of tobacco products is targetted in asian populations. lung cancer is the leading type of cancer diagnosed in korean men.

prostate cancer: even though asian men have the lowest incidence of prostate cancer in all the ethnic groups, the longer they live in the USA the higher the risk. asian american men also have the lowest incidence of screening and early detection done.

[AliBabaIncorporated]

do ya know what 蠶豆症 is in English? I thought it was called fauvism, but I googled and I guess that's an artistic movement. Apparently like half the guys in my uncle's branch of the family have it, and so they can't eat some kinds of beans otherwise they get really sick. They always say it's pretty common among Hakka, I found a paper claiming it is most common among Hakka but also happens in other southern Chinese and SE Asian groups, but not in northern Chinese:
http://home.i1.net/~alchu/hakka/toihak01.htm

[sandra]

are we at a greater risk of diabetes because we eat so much rice? (sorry if my question sounds dumb - i really am curious).

[Red_Matrix]

Originally Posted by Chasiubao_Boy

8)treatment of psychological disorders

Does this mean that Asians are generally more "psycho" or "depressed" than other racial groups?

[sandra]

Originally Posted by Red_Matrix

Does this mean that Asians are generally more "psycho" or "depressed" than other racial groups?

i think it's that they just put off seeking mental help until their condition is really serious.

[etcj]

Well, from my public health experience, my top-10 list is..

1) Hepatitis
2) Tuberculosis
3) Diabetes, particularly among senior citizens.
4) HIV/AIDS (maybe I'm biased)... 4 million HIV+ in India, 1.3 million in China
5) Asthma
6) Cervical cancer
7) Osteoperosis
8) Lung cancer, emphysema, & complications caused by cigarette smoking
9) Leukemia
10) Malnutrition

[golden_buns]

I'm amazed at how girls don't use condom that much here in Korea. Which worries me about HIV and other disceases becoming more and more common.
There's just very little campaign and adds about this issue

[nonamerasian]

Originally Posted by Chasiubao_Boy

3)diabetes is on the rise in asian populations. i forgot the numbers.

As a part of the country-wide epidemic rise or significantly on the rise amongst Asians? In other words, an Asian epidemic?

Either way, still creepy.

Seems like diabetes is hitting everyone. The American diet is a killer.

[hooligan]

Originally Posted by nonamerasian

As a part of the country-wide epidemic rise or significantly on the rise amongst Asians? In other words, an Asian epidemic?

Either way, still creepy.

Seems like diabetes is hitting everyone. The American diet is a killer.

too much sugar and everything probably. Chasiubao_Boy i need to talk to you about med school and gettign there some time :).

-ben

[krome]

Myopia - especially Gen X. Myopia was actually rather rare 2 generations ago - and still somewhat uncommon in mainland China today. Yet, it seems most of our parents are nearsighted and it is simply epidemic amongst American-born Gen X.

Why? And what can be done to correct it?

[AliBabaIncorporated]

Originally Posted by krome

Myopia - especially Gen X. Myopia was actually rather rare 2 generations ago - and still somewhat uncommon in mainland China today. Yet, it seems most of our parents are nearsighted and it is simply epidemic amongst American-born Gen X.

Not as bad as in HK or Taiwan where more than 4/5 of all students wear glasses. Probably there's a genetic predisposition to it, which gets aggravated by mass education forcing students to stare at books all day. I wonder whether the higher prevalence in HK and Taiwan as compared to among ABCs in the US is more closely related to the writing system or simply the amount of hours studied.

[deez nuts]

i'll try and address some of the questions later today, if nobody else has.

been busy.

others should feel free to discuss and answer these questions.

[krome]

Not as bad as in HK or Taiwan where more than 4/5 of all students wear glasses. Probably there's a genetic predisposition to it, which gets aggravated by mass education forcing students to stare at books all day. I wonder whether the higher prevalence in HK and Taiwan as compared to among ABCs in the US is more closely related to the writing system or simply the amount of hours studied.

How do you know it's higher than Asian-American students though? Do you have stats for us? I wouldn't be surprised if they were in the 80% range as well.

There is something about our generation (and to a lesser degree our parents') - increased academics, diet, ? - that has caused myopia to skyrocket epidemically. I've noticed this and have been wondering what the cause is for a while now. Is there an Asian genetic predisposition to it? Is it due to the fact we study a h*lla lot more? Or both? Or other factors too? I think this area warrants some serious medical research. Are we physically degenerating due to some modern influences?