Mortality differentials among Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States

Virginia S. Cain, National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), CDC

Vital statistics provide opportunity to examine the health of diverse racial and ethnic groups within the U.S. Previous analysis conducted using 1992 data demonstrated the importance of separating the Asian/Pacific Islander (API) category into component subgroups. Subgroup analysis found age-adjusted death rates ranging from 298.8 per 100,000 population for Japanese to 907.7 for Samoans. When examining smaller ethnic subgroups in the U.S., data from a single year can result in questions regarding the reliability of the estimates, as occurred in the 1992 analysis. Therefore, the present paper will update the research on mortality differentials of API by pooling death records from 2003, 2004, and 2005. Preliminary analyses indicate reliable age-adjusted mortality rates can be determined using pooled data for the subgroups within the API populations. Further analyses will examine age and gender specific mortality and cause of death and change overtime. Issues regarding reporting errors on ethnicity will be addressed.