Research published in the Jan. 25 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report reveals significant health disparities in cardiometabolic diseases among disaggregated racial and ethnic subgroups in the United States.
The study, led by Alain K. Koyama, Sc.D. from the CDC in Atlanta, analyzed data from 3,970,904 respondents to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System collected between 2013 and 2021. The findings highlight pronounced differences in the prevalence of diagnosed conditions such as diabetes, myocardial infarction, angina, coronary heart disease, and stroke across various racial and ethnic groups.
According to the researchers, there was considerable variation within aggregated categories. For instance, the prevalence of diabetes in the non-Hispanic Asian category was 11.5 percent, but varied significantly within the category, ranging from 6.3 percent among Vietnamese to 15.2 percent among Filipino respondents. Similarly, within the Hispanic or Latino category, the prevalence of angina or coronary heart disease ranged from 3.1 percent in the Cuban subgroup to 6.3 percent in the Puerto Rican subgroup.
These findings underscore the importance of considering specific racial and ethnic subgroups when addressing health disparities. “Findings from this study illustrate pronounced differences in cardiometabolic disease prevalence among racial and ethnic subgroups, with the largest variation occurring in diabetes prevalence,” the authors wrote. This data signals a critical need for tailored public health strategies to effectively address the unique healthcare needs within these diverse populations.
See “Health disparities in cardiometabolic disease seen within racial subgroups” (January 26, 2024)
