Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Analysis

Degenerative disease experienced at a higher rate among Japanese Americans
The degenerative disease I chose is Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.
Individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease may experience trouble with breathing, and coughing. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a term that is used to described a progressive lung disease. One of the biggest causes of COPD is cigarette smoking, and secondhand smoking. Pollutants that are found in the environment like fumes and chemicals can also contribute to COPD. According to the COPD Foundation, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease usually only affects individuals over 40, and 90% of them said they smoked at one point in their lives. Many Japanese Americans are smokers, so a large amount end up developing COPD.

Citation: Thomashow, B., Walsh, J., & Malanga, E. (2014). The COPD Foundation: Celebrating a Decade of Progress and Looking Ahead to a Cure. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases: Journal of the COPD Foundation, 1(1), 4-16. doi:10.15326/jcopdf.1.1.2014.0122

health care disparities implicated in the degenerative disease …show more content…
Other barriers like cultural and language differences also stop many Japanese Americans from accessing healthcare. Many Japanese Americans have a hard time adapting to Western medicine, so many try to stay away from it. According to Asian American Health Initiative, Asian youth have the highest smoking rates than any other racial and ethnic groups. These high rates of smoking in youth can be a contributor to the high rates of COPD in Japanese Americans. These healthcare disparities can really hurt Japanese Americans from stopping them from getting the healthcare they really need, and is available to