Chinese Australians ‘More Likely’ To Smoke, Have Diabetes And Develop Heart Disease

Researchers claim Chinese communities in Australia are more vulnerable to cardiovascular disease because of higher rates of diabetes, smoking and lack of movement.

A study published by the Sax Institute called 45 and Up looked at more than a quarter of a million people over the age of 45 and identified health trends across different communities.

Results from the report indicate Chinese community members were severely over-represented in cardiovascular disease. Researcher Kai Jin said, “For the last few years there is an increasing number of Chinese patients coming in to the hospital to have open heart surgery.”

Chinese Australians are 25 per cent more prone to diabetes, 22 per cent more likely to smoke and are 45 per cent more likely to be inactive than those from non-Chinese backgrounds.

The most common form of diabetes sweeping Chinese communities is Type 2. According to dietician Tammy Choi, there is a specific gene passed on from Chinese mothers and fathers, which can put their children at risk of diabetes if they aren’t too careful about their diet.

Two-thirds of Australians who smoke beyond the age of 45 will die because of their habit, the study found.

Ms Choi says mainstream risk awareness campaigns simply fail to translate. “A lot of the Chinese Australians are not liking our way of doing diabetes education here in a translated way so a lot of them have stopped coming to us,” she explained. “They find it us not helpful for them to manage their condition.”

According to Ms Jin, members of the Chinese community are less likely to be aware of what can damage their heart. “The consequence is they are delayed in the treatment and diagnoses of heart disease so the time they get to the hospital they will be sick,” she told SBS.

Chief Executive of the Heart Foundation in NSW, Kerry Doyle, said the research will encourage health professionals to create more culturally specific awareness campaigns.

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