Mortality Differentials among Asians and Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders in the U.S.: 2009-2011

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

Vital statistics provide opportunity to examine the health of diverse racial groups within the U.S. Previous analysis demonstrated the importance of separating the Asian/Pacific Islander (API) category into component subgroups. Yet not all states collect sufficient detail in their death certificates to permit analysis of the Asians and NHPI separately. Preliminary analysis of mortality data obtained by pooling death records from 2004-2006 from the 15 states that collected detailed race/ethnicity data found a significant difference between age-adjusted death rates for Asians and NHPI. In 2009, the 34 states including detailed and multiple race reporting on the certificates used in this analysis contain 85% of the U.S. NHPI population. Preliminary results include only deaths where a single race is reported. Almost 48 percent of certificates with NHPI listed include more than one race. The present study updates the analysis for 2009-2011 and extends it to include mortality of multiple race individuals.