The Prevalence of Disabilities Among Vietnamese-Origin Older Adults in the United States

Little information is available on the disability status of the diverse Asian-origin older population in the United States (U.S.). Limited literature has shown that Vietnamese-origin older adults have the highest prevalence of disability among all Asian-origin groups. Our primary objective was to illustrate how Vietnamese-origin older adults differed from those of other Asian and non-Hispanic White-origin.

We updated a previous report and computed national estimates of the prevalence of different types of disability for various ethnic populations using data from the 2017 to 2021 American Community Survey. Survey weights and the jackknife method were used for population estimates.

Results showed that all Asian-origin older adults as a group reported higher prevalence of disability in all categories (independent living, self-care, cognitive, ambulatory, and vision) except for hearing disability, compared to non-Hispanic Whites. Among the Asian-origin groups, Vietnamese-origin older adults of both genders reported the highest prevalence of disability, which was consistent with previously reported results in 2011.

Owing to their refugee and socioeconomic statuses and other factors, Vietnamese-origin older adults in the U.S. are an especially vulnerable population whose poor overall health and health care needs deserve the attention of both health and social policy makers.