Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., Vol 155, No. 6, Jun 1997, 1895-1901.
Asthma in a Vietnamese refugee population
AL Ries, MA Picchi, LH Nguyen, RJ Moser, CA Molgaard and SI Wasserman
Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, USA.
Asians and Pacific Islanders comprise a large and growing minority group in
the United States, yet data on health status specific to these populations
are scant. We conducted an epidemiologic study of asthma in a Vietnamese
refugee population to estimate prevalence, evaluate risk factors, and
better understand treatments of asthma among Vietnamese individuals. One
hundred twenty-four asthma cases were identified from a population of 2,536
new Vietnamese refugees in San Diego (prevalence = 49 per 1,000; 4.9%). Two
nonasthmatic control groups of Vietnamese refugees, matched for age and
gender with the asthma cases, were recruited for a case-control study,
using a questionnaire administered in Vietnamese. Vietnamese asthmatic
individuals used both Western and non-Western therapies. Most subjects used
traditional health practices, such as coining, cupping, and oil inhalation.
As compared with current- refugee controls, the asthmatic subjects used
significantly more bleeding (OR: 3.40; 95% CI: 1.06 to 10.80) and herbal
ingestion (OR: 1.87; 95% CI: 1.08 to 3.19). As compared with former-refugee
controls, the asthmatic subjects used significantly more oil inhalation
(OR: 2.58; 95% CI: 1.45 to 4.85), bleeding (OR: 8.64, 95% CI: 1.02 to
73.70), and herbal ingestion (OR: 1.93; 95% CI: 1.02 to 3.67). The
presentation and recognition of asthma among the Vietnamese subjects were
similar to those in other populations. This information may be helpful in
designing culture-specific health-education programs.
