The Pan Asian Cohort Study
Background

Asian Americans are one of the fastest growing racial/ethnic groups in the United States, increasing by 20 percent between 2000 and 2005, and projected to comprise 11% of the U.S. population by the year 2050. Unfortunately, despite their high population growth rate and increasingly significant numbers, Asian Americans are studied in just 0.2% of federal health-related grants and 0.01% of research articles. Previously, most large studies of diabetes group Asians into one group, even though ‘Asian American' encompasses more than 20 countries of origin, 30 ethnicities, and 200 languages and dialects.

Even when Asian Americans are grouped, they have been found to be at increased risk for Type 2 diabetes when compared with Whites. Grouping Asian Americans together obscures differences in diabetes risk across subgroups. There is need for more racial/ethnic specific data in order to quantify, characterize, and improve diabetes care in Asian Americans in the United States.