According to the Cancer Prevention Institute of California, breast cancer rates have declined or held steady for all other racial groups except for Asian Americans. Now, a new study, published in the medical journal Preventing Chronic Disease, shows preliminary evidence that immigrant Asian American women who were born outside of the United States may have a higher risk of breast cancer than U.S.-born counterparts, reports NBC News.
Researchers studied breast cancer risk by looking at nativity and percentage of life residency in the U.S. Results showed that Asian American women who immigrated and lived more than 50% of their lives in the United States were on average 3 times more likely to have breast cancer. Immigrant Asian American women who resided in the US for less than 50% of their lives were 2.46 times more likely to get breast cancer.
While past research has indicated that U.S. citizens experience higher rates of breast cancer than the rest of the world, the study’s co-author, Brittany Morey from University of California, Riverside School of Public Policy, said that these findings are showing opposite trends.
An important note the researched discussed was that previous data showed that immigrant Asian American women were more likely to have had a mammogram, which could explain that their findings was due to higher detection rates. Some limitations of the study include their “relatively small” sample size and lack of specification of Asian sub-population identification.
These findings also highlighted the need for clinical approaches specific to immigrant Asian American women, including addressing barriers they face like language and cultural differences.
AsAmNews has Asian America in its heart. We’re an all-volunteer effort of dedicated staff and interns. Check out our Twitter feed and Facebook page for more content. Please consider interning, joining our staff or submitting a story.
