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Chronic Liver Disease and Asian Americans

Among Asian Americans, chronic liver disease is a leading cause of death. While the cause is not always known, some cases can be initiated by conditions such as chronic alcoholism, obesity, and exposure to hepatitis B and C viruses.

  • In 2019, chronic liver disease was the sixth leading cause of death for Asian/Pacific Islanders, 25-44 years old.1
  • Asian American men have higher incidence rates of liver cancer as compared to Hispanic, non-Hispanic white, or Asian/Pacific Islander men.2
  • Asian male subgroups have higher mortality rates for liver cancer, specifically 54.3 for Vietnamese, 33.9 for Koreans, 23.3 for Chinese, 16.8 for Filipino and 9.3 for Japanese.2
  • Asian American men are 60 percent more likely to die from liver and IBD cancer, as compared to non-Hispanic white men.
  • The incidence rate for liver and IBD cancer is 1.8 time higher for Asian American women as compared to non-Hispanic white women.

Cancer Rates (2014-2018)

Cancer Incidence Rates per 100,000 – Men
Cancer Asian/Pacific Islander Men Non-Hispanic White Men Asian/Pacific Islander/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites 309.1 520.4 0.6
Liver & IBD* 19.4 11.3 1.7

*IBD = Intrahepatic Bile Duct

Source: NCI 2021. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2018. Table 1.24 and SEER*Explorer [ Accessed 7/22/2021].
https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2018/; https://seer.cancer.gov/explorer/

 

Cancer Incidence Rates per 100,000 – Women
Cancer Asian/Pacific Islander Women Non-Hispanic White Women Asian/Pacific Islander/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites 311.5 460.2 0.7
Liver & IBD 7.1 4.0 1.9

Source: NCI 2021. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2018. Table 1.25 and SEER*Explorer [ Accessed 7/22/2021].
https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2018/; https://seer.cancer.gov/explorer/

 

Diagnosed

Age-adjusted percentage of persons 18 years of age and over who have been told by a doctor that they have chronic liver disease, 2018**
Asian/Pacific Islander Non-Hispanic White Asian/Pacific Islander / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
1.1 1.6 0.7

**NOTE: This is the most recent national data available at this time.

Source: CDC 2020. Summary Health Statistics: National Health Interview Survey: 2018. Table A-4a.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/shs/tables.htm

 

Death Rates (2014-2018)

Cancer Death Rates per 100,000 – Men
Cancer Asian/Pacific Islander Men Non-Hispanic White Men Asian/Pacific Islander / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites 114.6 190.2 0.6
Liver & IBD 13.1 8.4 1.6

Source: NCI 2021. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2018. Table 1.20
https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2018/sections.html

 

Cancer Death Rates per 100,000 – Women
Cancer Asian/Pacific Islander Women Non-Hispanic White Women Asian/Pacific Islander / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
All Sites 84.6 137.8 0.6
Liver & IBD 5.4 3.6 1.5

Source: NCI 2021. Seer Cancer Statistics Review, 1975-2018. Table 1.20
https://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2018/sections.html

 

Age-adjusted Chronic Liver Disease and Cirrhosis Death Rates per 100,000 (2018)
  Non-Hispanic Asian Non-Hispanic White Non-Hispanic Asian / Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Men 4.6 14.9 .03
Women 2.4 8.3 0.3
Total 3.4 11.5 0.3

Source: CDC 2021. National Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 69, No. 13. Table 10.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr69/nvsr69-13-508.pdf [PDF 2.05MB]

 

1CDC, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS)
http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/fatal.html

2Source: CDC 2008. Health characteristics of the Asian adult population: United States, 2004–2006, page 2.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ad/ad394.pdf [PDF 476KB]

Last Modified: 8/11/2021 10:28:00 AM

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