Description
National Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) prevalence data obscure the disparities that exist between Asian subgroups. Research has found that Filipino-Americans had the highest prevalences of T2D compared to Chinese and Vietnamese-Americans. Filipino-Americans have been understudied and there is a gap in knowledge regarding how to prevent T2D among this population. The college setting represents an avenue for understanding early risk of T2D and assessing how resources for students can be used to prevent T2D. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalences of risk factors for T2D among Filipino-American college students and to evaluate whether these prevalences were different compared to Other Asian American college students. This was a cross-sectional study with a sample of 177 Filipino-American college students and 138 Other Asian American college students. Data was collected on 17 health behaviors, 4 clinical factors, and 6 co-variates. Differences between the two groups were tested using Pearson Chi-Square Tests and Independent Samples t-Tests. More Filipino-Americans had a family history of T2D (χ2 (1) = 4.172, p = 0.041), consumed potatoes (χ2 (1) = 8.254, p = 0.004), and got “less than optimal or excessive” sleep (χ2 (1) = 5.264, p = 0.022) compared to Other Asian Americans. However, Filipino-Americans were healthier than Other Asian Americans with regards to meeting the weekly muscle strengthening recommendations (χ2(1) = 12.730, p = 0.000) and having fewer minutes of sedentary behavior (t = -2.958, p = 0.003). Filipino-American college students’ potato consumption was associated with fast food consumption, which warrants changing the accessibility of fast food on college campuses and developing behavior change interventions that teach students how to cook balanced meals. Also, Filipino American college students who were getting “less than optimal or excessive” sleep were more likely to be overweight or obese, which implies that overweight and obese Filipino-American college students should be the priority population for sleep interventions. Future research should disaggregate data by Asian subgroup to better understand subgroup disparities and collect more evidence regarding the mechanism of T2D among Filipino-Americans.
