According to a new study by the American Heart Association, Asian Americans are nearly twice as likely to die in the hospital following a heart attack than Caucasian patients. (photo by UrbaneWomenMag)
Researchers say the difference could be due to Asian Americans participating in the study being much older, with medical histories featuring heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, heart failure and smoking. The disparities could also be the result of language barriers or other cultural differences.
“Health disparities are a serious public health concern in the United States and we’ve seen that different racial and ethnic groups often receive unequal treatment for the same diagnosis,” said study leader Dr. Feng Qian. “For that reason, different ethnic and racial groups may have different outcomes.”
The study also found that Asian Americans were less likely to be given aspirin or counseling on how to quit smoking after they left the hospital. They were also more likely than whites to receive lipid-lowering therapy.
The study followed the measures of care given to 107,403 Asian and Caucasian heart attack patients over the course of 5 years, from 2003 to 2008. To read more about the study’s outcomes, see the article at Medicine.net.
Kulingana na utafiti uliofanywa na Shirika la Moyo la Marekani, watu wa asili ya Asia wana uwezekano mkubwa zaidi wa kufa baada ya kushikwa na mshtuko wa moyo kuliko watu wa asili ya Caucasian. Watafiti wanasema tofauti hiyo inaweza kuwa kutokana na Wamarekani wa Asia wanaoshiriki katika utafiti huo kuwa wazee zaidi, na historia ya matibabu ikiwa na ugonjwa wa moyo, kisukari, shinikizo la damu, kushindwa kwa moyo na uvutaji sigara. Tofauti hizo zaweza pia kuwa tokeo la vizuizi vya lugha au tofauti nyingine za kitamaduni. "Utofauti wa afya ni wasiwasi mkubwa wa afya ya umma nchini Marekani na tumeona kwamba vikundi tofauti vya rangi na kikabila mara nyingi hupokea matibabu yasiyo sawa kwa utambuzi huo huo, "alisema kiongozi wa utafiti Daktari Feng Qian. "Kwa sababu hiyo, makundi tofauti ya kikabila na rangi yanaweza kuwa na matokeo tofauti, ""aliongeza, ""utafiti huo pia uligundua kuwa Wamarekani wa Asia walikuwa na uwezekano mdogo wa kupewa aspirin au ushauri juu ya jinsi ya kuacha kuvuta sigara baada ya kuondoka hospitalini." Pia walikuwa na uwezekano mkubwa zaidi kuliko wazungu kupokea tiba ya kupunguza lipid. Utafiti huo ulifuatilia hatua za utunzaji zilizotolewa kwa wagonjwa 107,403 wa Asia na Caucasian waliopatwa na mshtuko wa moyo kwa kipindi cha miaka mitano, kutoka 2003 hadi 2008. Ili kusoma zaidi juu ya matokeo ya utafiti, angalia makala katika Medicine.net.