Category Archives: Asian American Medical Hazard

Asian American Medical Hazard: Lung Cancers for Female Asian Non-Smokers (FANS)

When a family fried recently was diagnosed with lung cancer, we were all puzzled because she and her husband did not smoke. She wasn’t the first Asian American we knew that happened to, and according to this article, it’s a … Continue reading

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Asian American Medical Hazard: PFAS “Forever Chemical” Levels

A recent paper concludes that Asian Americans have higher levels of PFAS relative to other groups in the US population.  PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are known as “forever chemicals” because they break down very slowly in the … Continue reading

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Asian American Medical Hazard: Hidden Fat and Hidden Diabetes

“Hidden fat” at first glance doesn’t look like a bad thing. Who wants to have everyone see where your fat is? But for Asian Americans Pacific Islanders and the Filipino, South Asian, and Pacific Islander subgroups in particular, fat tends … Continue reading

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Asian American Medical Hazard: US Western States Drought

It might be seem like a stretch to call the Western States Drought a medical hazard particular to Asian Americans, but one aspect of the drought will affects certain Asian Americans more drastically:  an increase in Valley Fever.  Valley fever, … Continue reading

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Asian American Medical Hazard: Pulse Oximeter Readings

Reuters, NPR, and other news outlets report that  African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians receive less supplemental oxygen when hospitalized because of a problem with a common medical instrument, the pulse oximeter. This instrument clips onto a finger, as shown in … Continue reading

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Asian American Medical Hazard: South Asian Heart Disease

Silicon Valley resident Mahendra Agrawal exercised regularly, maintained a health weight, and followed a vegetarian diet.  When he went to the hospital with shortness of breath, doctors found that the 63 year old had obstructed coronary arteries.  His reaction: “I’m … Continue reading

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Asian American Medical Hazard: Somatic Symptom Disorder

When she was 14, Diana Chao began experiencing severe pain in her eyes.  The pressure buildup in her eyes was diagnosed as uveitis, an inflammatory eye disease that caused her to go temporarily blind.  For the next four years, she … Continue reading

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Asian American Medical Hazard: Stroke

My doctor has always considered my high blood pressure to be a significant concern, and she makes sure I am managing it effectively.  After thinking about the Asian Americans that I know who have had a stroke and this recent … Continue reading

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Asian American Medical Hazard: Working in Silicon Valley

While mobile health units are used in impoverished places like the slums of Mumbai to deliver health care to Asians there, they are also used to deliver health care to Asians in not so impoverished places – the companies of … Continue reading

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Asian American Medical Hazard: Food Allergies

My father developed an allergy to shrimp, one of his favorite foods.  When he ate shrimp anyway, my mother warned him in Tagalog that he would get itchy.  “Then I’ll scratch,” was his reply.  While I laugh when I think … Continue reading

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Asian American Medical Hazard: Valley Fever (Coccidioidomycosis)

When I read this article about how California was moving prisoners from Central Valley prisons because of “valley fever” problems, one line in particular got my attention: U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson last week ordered the transfer of most black, … Continue reading

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Asian American Medical Hazard: Toxic Subsistence Fishing

When I saw this sign at the start of a run at Coyote Point, a park on San Francisco Bay, I thought to myself, “do people really eat a lot of fish from the Bay?”  Apparently many do, as a … Continue reading

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