Health Disparities Among Asian Immigrants in the United States: The Impact of Arrival Cohorts and Countries of Origin

TL;DR

This study explores how the health of Asian immigrants in the U.S. varies based on when they arrived and their country of origin.

Contribution

The study reveals health disparities among Asian immigrants linked to arrival cohorts and countries of origin.

Findings

Health outcomes of Asian immigrants differ by arrival cohorts.

Health disparities are influenced by the immigrants' countries of origin.

Cognitive and physical health challenges vary among different Asian immigrant groups.

Abstract

Asian Americans are the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group in the United States, having experienced an 81% increase in the population since 2000. Seventy-one percent of adult Asian Americans are immigrants (Pew Research Center, 2022). Much previous research focused on the optimistic social standing of Asian Americans as Asian immigrants’ successful incorporation into American society. However, their health assimilation process and the health disparities among Asian immigrants have been largely underexplored. Using data from the 2008 to 2023 American Community Survey (ACS), this study indicates that the health (cognitive difficulty, physical disability, and independent difficulty, etc.) of Asian immigrants differs by both the arrival cohorts and the sending countries.