Heart Disease Prevention Among Chinese Immigrants

There is little information about the heart disease prevention behavior of Asian immigrants. Chinese are the largest Asian sub-group in the United States (US), and 69% of Chinese Americans are foreign-born. Our objective was to describe Chinese immigrants’ heart disease prevention practices. A community-based, in-person survey of Chinese men and women was conducted in Seattle during 2005. Our study sample included 395 Chinese immigrants. Only 15% of the respondents consumed five or more servings of fruit/ vegetables per day, and less than one-third (31%) engaged in regular physical activity. Smoking rates were significantly higher among men (21%) than women (1%). About three-quarters (74%) of the study group had received a cholesterol test in the previous five years. Recent immigrants had higher levels of fruit/ vegetable consumption and physical activity than those who had been in the US for 10 years or more. Conversely, longer duration of US residence was positively associated with recent cholesterol testing. Heart disease prevention programs should be developed, implemented, and evaluated in Chinese immigrant populations. These efforts should specifically aim to increase fruit/ vegetable consumption and regular physical activity. Future efforts to increase cholesterol testing should focus on recent immigrants.