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hepatitis B > statistics

Here is a collection of statistics you can use for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Chinese Americans, Korean Americans, Vietnamese Americans, or All populations:

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

  • Although AAPIs represent four percent of the population, they account for over half of the 1.3 million chronic hepatitis B cases and half of the deaths resulting from chronic hepatitis B infection in the United States.
  • Two million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders do not have health insurance.
  • Only 1/3 of all Asian subpopulations reported having a "great deal" of choice in their source of care, significantly less than the 50% reported for the US population overall
  • 32% of Asian Americans do not have a regular doctor.
  • Asian Americans were less likely than the overall population to rate their care highly, less likely to be confident about their care, and more likely to indicate having a communication problems with their doctor.
  • "Asian Americans, particular Chinese, Vietnamese, and Filipinos, are more likely to "strongly agree" that it is better to take care of one's own health and that staying healthy is a matter of luck.
  • Many Asian Americans believe their doctor does not understand their background and values.
  • Asian Americans are less likely to receive physician counseling about smoking cessation, healthy diet and weight, exercise and mental health.

Chinese Americans

  • Chinese Americans are 6x higher at risk for liver cancer caused by hepatitis B than Caucasian Americans.

Korean Americans

  • Korean Americans are 8x higher at risk for liver cancer caused by hepatitis B than Caucasian Americans.
  • Korean Americans have the highest rate of non-insurance among all racial/ethnic groups (40%).
  • 54% of Koreans do not have a regular doctor.
  • 49% of Asian Americans rated their health status as "excellent" or "very good" but only 25% of Koreans rated their health status that high.
  • Korean Americans are 8x higher at risk for liver cancer caused by hepatitis B than Caucasian Americans.

Vietnamese Americans

  • Vietnamese Americans are 13x higher at risk for liver cancer caused by hepatitis B than Caucasian Americans.
  • 1 in 5 Asian American adults ages 18-64 is uninsured or has been uninsured at some point in the past year, with especially high rates for Korean and Vietnamese Americans.
  • 41% of Vietnamese Americans do not have a regular doctor.
  • 49% of Asian Americans rated their health status as "excellent" or "very good" but only 20% of Vietnamese rated their health status that high.

All populations

  • CDC projects that each 1 million high risk adults vaccinated would save up to $100 million in future direct medical costs through preventing 50,000 new Hepatitis B infections, 1,000-3,000 chronic hepatitis B infections, and 150-450 deaths from cirrhosis and liver cancer.
  • Worldwide, more than two billion people (1 out of 3 people) have been infected with hepatitis B and approximately 350 to 400 million people have developed chronic infection.
  • About one million people die each year from hepatitis B and its complications
  • In the United States, more than 12 million people (1 out of 20 people) have been infected with hepatitis B, and approximately 1.25 million people have developed chronic infection. Each year approximately 100,000 new people become infected with the disease and more than 5,000 Americans die from hepatitis B-related liver complications, including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
  • It is estimated that one U.S. health care worker dies each day from hepatitis B.
  • About 5 to 10 percent of hepatitis B-infected adults will develop chronic infection.
  • More than half a million people worldwide die each year from primary liver cancer, and up to 80 percent of liver cancers are due to hepatitis B.
  • Of hepatitis-B infected adults, about 40 percent will show no signs of symptoms.

Hepatitis B Initiative-DC
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Hepatitis B Initiative-Boston
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