Acculturation status and hypertension among Asian immigrants in Canada.

Some evidence of a protective function of immigrant status against chronic illness is found in the literature. However, as immigrants’ period of residence and level of acculturation increase, so does the prevalence of chronic conditions. 3 One classic study found that more traditional Japanese compared with their Westernised counterparts had a lower coronary heart disease prevalence rate. A MEDLINE/ PubMed search found few published studies of the effects of acculturation on hypertension with a nationally representative sample of Asian immigrants. Therefore, the primary objective of our research was to examine the hypothesis that prevalence of hypertension among Asian immigrants differs by acculturation status.