Asian Americans no longer healthiest racial group among older adults, study finds

Asian Americans are no longer the healthiest racial group among older U.S.-born adults, according to a new study published in the Journals of Gerontology. Non-Hispanic white Americans now report lower rates of disability in this age group, marking a shift in health trends.

The findings reveal that, over the past two decades, the prevalence of disability has declined across every other racial group, including non-Hispanic white, Black, Hispanic and Indigenous populations, but has remained stagnant among Asian populations in the U.S. Researchers suggest that rising income inequality may help explain these patterns.

“Our study shows that the ‘model minority’ stereotype – that Asians are this high-achieving minority group – misrepresents the actual experience of U.S.-born Asians,” says lead author Leafia Ye, an assistant professor in the department of sociology at the University of Toronto. “It also suggests that economic factors play an important role in shaping health outcomes.”

From 2005 to 2022, most racial groups saw increased income and corresponding declines in disability rates. However, the proportion of older Asians living on low income increased. The study also found that Asian Americans with low socioeconomic status experienced a unique rise in disability rates, a trend not observed in any other group.

Previous research has found that older Asian individuals, on average, lived longer and had lower disability rates than other groups, including the most socioeconomically privileged group in the U.S., non-Hispanic white Americans.

This trend was attributed to the fact that most foreign-born Asian Americans are positively selected on health. This is because individuals with poorer health are less likely to undertake the challenges of immigrating to another country.

Ye and study co-author Hui Zheng, a professor in the department of sociology at the Ohio State University, focused on U.S.-born Asian adults aged 50 and over, a fast-growing but understudied segment of the population.

For the study, the researchers analyzed data from more than 18 million respondents in the American Community Survey, the largest population survey in the United States. Disability was defined as having a chronic physical or mental health condition that makes self-care and independent living difficult.

Their results showed that U.S.-born Asian Americans had a clear health advantage two decades ago, but that advantage has since diminished. Between 2005 to 2009, just 5.5 per cent had difficulty doing certain tasks alone, such as grocery shopping – compared with seven per cent of white and 14 per cent of Black older adults. From 2020 to 2022, disability rates had declined to less than five per cent for white adults and 10 per cent for Black adults. Among Asian Americans, however, the rate remained unchanged at 5.5 per cent.

“We initially thought COVID-19 – with its disruption to people’s lives and the surge of anti-Asian racism – could have been responsible for the lack of progress in Asian American disability rates, but this trend started many years before the pandemic,” says Ye, who is also cross-appointed to the University of Toronto’s Institute for Life Course and Aging at the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work.

“While Asian Americans remain relatively healthy by many measures, our study underscores the need for more research that monitors their health trends, especially among older adults.”

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