ANN ARBOR—Asian and Pacific Islander Americans who felt they were discriminated against daily indicated the stress led to chronic health problems, according to a newly published University of Michigan study.

The findings, which are from the first known nationally representative study of discrimination and physical health conditions among Asian Americans, indicate that discrimination was related to ailments such as cardiovascular and respiratory conditions, and pain.

“Our findings are noteworthy in countering the notion that Asian Americans are a ‘model minority’ who do not experience discrimination,” said Gilbert Gee, the study’s lead author and an assistant professor of health behavior and health education in the School of Public Health. A “model minority” refers to the stereotype that Asian Americans are successful, such as being good students, and no longer encounter discrimination.

Collaborating with Gee were Michael S. Spencer and Juan Chen of the U-M School of Social Work and David Takeuchi of University of Washington’s School of Social Work.
The findings appear today (May 30) in the current issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

Data were from 2,095 respondents from the National Latino and Asian American Study, conducted in 2002 and 2003. Analyses involved the entire sample and three Asian subgroups (Chinese, Vietnamese, and Filipino).

Respondents were surveyed about chronic health conditions in four categories: cardiovascular (heart attack, high blood pressure), respiratory (hay fever, asthma), pain (chronic back and neck problems) and other conditions (cancer, seizures).

They also were asked nine questions about general, unfair treatment, including ones such as, “you are treated with less respect than others,” “you are called names or insulted” and “you are threatened or harassed.” Responses could range from “almost every day” to “never.”

Filipinos reported the highest levels of discrimination, followed by Chinese and Vietnamese. The respondents said they believed race, ethnicity or skin color were the main reasons for discrimination.

Vietnamese and Chinese respondents indicated they were more likely to have cardiovascular problems due to the increased stress from discrimination. Pain and respiratory conditions were associated with Vietnamese and Filipinos, but not Chinese Americans. These findings held even when researches took into consideration a variety of other important factors, including potential biases in how people respond to surveys. Gee said this study’s results are consistent with other studies showing relationships between discrimination and illness among African Americans, Latinos and other minority communities.

The researchers stated that policies designed to strengthen civil rights can also promote health.

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