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Asian Americans in Wisconsin

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Health Facts  

Chronic Disease¹ 

• Asians in Wisconsin have lower hospitalization rates for cancer, stroke, heart disease, and unintentional injury than the rest of the population. Yet, the mortality rates from diabetes and stroke were higher than in the total state population. 
• During the years 2001-2005, the four leading causes of death among Asians in Wisconsin were cancer, heart disease, stroke, and unintentional injury. 
• Asians in Wisconsin have lower rates of death and hospitalization from heart disease, compared to the total Wisconsin population. 
• For both the Asian and the total Wisconsin populations, males had higher rates of death from heart disease than females.

Health Care²

• Based on Wisconsin Family Health Survey results for 2001-2005, 93 percent of Asians in Wisconsin had health insurance at any given point in time. This is the same percentage as in the total Wisconsin population.
• Seven percent of Asians were reported to be uninsured at the time of the survey interview, statistically no different from the uninsured rate in the total population (6%). 
• Another measure of health insurance coverage is coverage over the year preceding the survey interview (coverage over "the past year"). Five percent of Asians were uninsured for all of the past year; this is statistically no different from the percentage in the total state population (4%).

Health Risk Factors³

• An estimated 13 percent of Asian adults in Wisconsin smoke cigarettes, based on survey results for 2001-2005. This was significantly lower than the percentage who reported smoking in the total adult population (22%).
• Asian adults reported levels of alcohol use lower than those reported by the total adult population of Wisconsin. For example, the percentage of Asians who reported heavy drinking (2%) was significantly lower than the percentage reported by the total population (8%). Heavy drinking is defined as more than two drinks per day for men and more than one drink per day for women, over the past 30 days. 
• Fourteen percent of Asians reported binge drinking (defined as five drinks on at least one occasion in the past month), compared to 24 percent among the total population. This was a significant difference. 
• Less than 1 percent of Asians reported drinking and driving, significantly less than the percentage for the total Wisconsin population (5 percent). 
• Thirty-nine percent of Asian adults were overweight or obese, a significantly lower percentage than in the total population (60%). These estimates are based on self-reported height and weight.

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Citations:

1. Wisconsin Minority Health Report, 2001-2005
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.

Additional Information About Asian Americans in Wisconsin:

• More information on Asian American population estimates is available from an interactive data query system, Wisconsin Interactive Statistics on Health (WISH), on the Wisconsin Department of Health Services site.
  
• A synopsis of health-related findings about Asian Americans in Wisconsin is provided by this excerpt from the Department's Wisconsin Minority Health Report, 2001-2005 (PDF, 23 KB). The full report is also available.
  
• The State of Public School Integration project provides information on the racial and ethnic composition of Wisconsin public schools.

Related links:

• Wisconsin Historical Society
• University of Wisconsin at Madison, Center for East Asian Studies
• University of Wisconsin at Madison, Center for Southeast Asian Studies
• University of Wisconsin at Madison, Center for South Asia
• Collaborative Center for Health Equity
• U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program

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Last Revised: May 18, 2012