The Filipino American identity comprises principles from both the Philippines and the United States. Although the meaning of identity differs from one individual to another, the fundamental factors are the same. History, genetics, socio-economic status, culture, and education are all indirect factors that influences the identity of an ethnic group; thus, they are also reflective of a group's health beliefs and practices. The ethnic differences between the Philippines and the United States are influential on the health practices and behaviors of Filipino Americans; however, these differences can also be regarded as being on opposite ends of a spectrum. While it is apparent that the United States exhibits a greater Western approach to health care than Eastern medicine, the health care practices in the Philippines reflect both traditional medicine as well as Western medicine. Due to the historical ties between the United States and the Philippines and societal progression, the healthcare practices of the Philippines also have an allopathic influence. In reference to the different healthcare approaches of the United States and the Philippines, it is evident that both healthcare strategies and indirect factors are reflected in the health lifestyle of Filipino Americans. Socio-cultural factors such as established medical systems, religion, and superstitious belief are influential indirect factors of Filipino American health.
Measurement of health of the Filipino American population Health indicators are key in analyzing the overall public health of the Filipino American population. Main health indicators of a particular population include mortality and morbidity. By analyzing these statistics, the effect of certain health practices of the Filipino American population can be determined. Other important health indicators include leading cause of death, life expectancy, neo-natal mortality rate, and the maternal mortality ratio. It is noted that unlike many other Asian Americans, a lot of Filipino Americans suffer from a founder effect due to the Philippine islands being isolated from much of the world until Spanish discovery. This is very similar to the founder effect issues of Ashkenazi Jews, French Canadians, Cajuns, Irish, and Finnish.
Hypertension Based on reports of Filipino American communities throughout the United States, specifically in higher population areas of Filipinos, there is a history of a higher prevalence of hypertension exhibited among Filipino American men and women than in other ethnic communities within the United States second to African Americans. In addition, the prevalence of hypertension was greater within Filipino American communities than Filipinos living in the Philippines. There are behavior-related risk factors related with hypertension. These factors include reduced physical activity levels and excess dietary sodium intake from foods. In addition to hypertension, Filipino Americans have a genetic risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes due to similar founder effect genetic bottlenecks in Philippine island populations.
Cancer In general, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and strokes are the leading cause of death for Filipino Americans. For Filipino men, the greatest health concern is cardiovascular disease and diabetes, whereas breast cancer is the leading cause of death among female Filipino Americans. Filipino Americans have also high prevalence of the BRCA1 gene mutation, nearly on the same level of prevalence as Ashkenazi Jews, and is a predisposition to early breast and ovarian cancer. This is due to a founder effect among several populations in the Philippines. The prevalence of cancer is higher among Filipino Americans in comparison to other ethnic groups of the United States, which is reflective in their associated low cancer screening rates. Westernized diets and behaviors are considerably influential on the high cancer risk of the Filipino American community. Other factors such as acculturation, lack of targeted educational programs, and socio-economic status influence the morbidity and mortality rates of Filipino Americans.
Depression
It is common among immigrant groups to experience difficulties with acculturation upon arrival. and Filipino Americans share similar mental health effects to other Asian American groups. In this case, Filipino Americans struggle with cultural alienation, stress from separation, and societal discrimination. Filipinos may struggle with assimilation due to separation from family and financial struggles, which contributes to clinical depression. It is found that Filipino men commit suicide more than Filipino women.
Tuberculosis Tuberculosis cases are highly prevalent among Filipino Americans. The Philippines is ranked the ninth on the list of top countries with high incidence and prevalence of tuberculosis. Poverty and health care disparities are major contributors of the tuberculosis epidemic within the Philippines. Filipino immigrants have the highest amount of tuberculosis diagnoses among all Asian immigrant groups. The difference between the tuberculosis incidence rate of Filipino Americans and United States born citizens is more than tenfold.
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