title: Prevalence of Chronic Disease and Their Risk Factors Among Iranian, Ukrainian, Vietnamese Refugees in California, 2002-2011.
abstract: Little is known about how the health status of incoming refugees to the United States compares to that of the general population. We used logistic regression to assess whether country of origin is associated with prevalence of hypertension, obesity, type-II diabetes, and tobacco-use among Iranian, Ukrainian and Vietnamese refugees arriving in California from 2002 to 2011 (N = 21,968). We then compared the prevalence among refugees to that of the Californian general population (CGP). Ukrainian origin was positively associated with obesity and negatively with smoking, while the opposite was true for Vietnamese (p < 0.001). Iranian origin was positively associated with type-II diabetes and smoking (p < 0.001). After accounting for age and gender differences, refugees had lower prevalence of obesity and higher prevalence of smoking than CGP. Individually, all refugee groups had lower type-II diabetes prevalence than CGP. Grouping all refugees together can hide distinct health needs associated with country of origin.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Stanford University, Medical School Office Building, 1265 Welch Road, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA. michell3@stanford.edu.
authors.forename: Michelle-Linh Thuy
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: Division of General Medical Disciplines, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
authors.forename: David H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Rehkopf
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000208:ethnology*; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000208:ethnology*; D007492:Iran / Q000208:ethnology; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000208:ethnology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012036:Refugees / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000208:ethnology*; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014455:Ukraine / Q000208:ethnology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014744:Vietnam / Q000208:ethnology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: California; Hypertension; Obesity; Refugee; Refugee Health