The Impact of Marital Status on Diabetes for Asian Americans, 2000-2024

• In Event: Asia and Asian American Section Roundtables Session
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 1: Asia and Asian American Section Roundtables Session - Health, Organizations

Abstract

Demographers have long noted the correlation between marital status and health conditions. In general, being married increases the likelihood of having a significant other who is both vigilant and proactive in maintaining one’s health. One group that merits study in terms of the marital status-health association is the Asian American population. Asians are more likely than whites to have traditional marriages and would be expected to fare better relative to various health conditions. The specific condition of focus for this study is diabetes. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to assess the impact of marital status on the likelihood of having diabetes for Asian Americans. The following are the specific research questions: 1) How does marital status impact the level of diabetes for Asian Americans? 2) What are the effects of age, gender, class, citizenship, and birthplace on the marital status-diabetes relationship? 3) How has the effect of marital status on the level of diabetes changed over time for Asians? and 4) How do all of the above compare with the white population? This study employs the National Health Interview Surveys (NHIS) of the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) from 2000 to 2024 and logistic regression as the multivariate analysis technique. Finally, the study concludes with a discussion of the policy implications of the findings.

Authors

• Hayward Derrick Horton, University at Albany, SUNY

• Tasnia Jannat, American International university-Bangladesh

• Samuel Jr Ocasio, University at Albany, SUNY

• Ngozichukwuka Jacob Agwu, University at Albany, SUNY