Asian, Latinx, or Multiracial? Assessing Filipinxs' Health Conditions and Outcomes by Aggregate Ethnic Category

Filipinxs are the second-largest Asian subgroup in the USA. While Filipinxs are most often considered Asian when constructing aggregate ethnic categories, recent research has identified a trend of a small portion of Filipinxs identifying as Latinx or multiracial. However, little research had addressed how identification with different aggregate ethnic categories may have implications for identifying health disparities among Filipinxs and how these compare to non-Hispanic whites.

Bivariate and multivariable regression analyses using 2011-2018 California Health Interview Survey data, comparing Asian Filipinxs, Latinx Filipinxs, and multiracial Filipinxs.

In bivariate analyses, Asian Filipinxs had a higher prevalence of diabetes than Latinx or multiracial Filipinxs. After controlling for sociodemographics, Latinx Filipinxs had significantly lower odds of having diabetes or heart disease than Asian Filipinxs. Compared to non-Latinx Whites, Asian Filipinxs reported higher odds of being in fair/poor health, obese or overweight, high blood pressure, and diabetes, multiracial Filipinxs reported higher odds of being obese or overweight, and Latinx Filipinxs reported lower odds of heart disease.

These findings suggest emerging differences in health linked to identification with different ethnic categories, underscoring the need to investigate nuances among Filipinxs in future research as well as highlighting the utility of emerging sociological insights in health research.