Pacific Islanders--migration and health

Abstract

Native Hawaiians and peoples from American Samoa, Guam and the Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands are all recipients of US subsidized health care. Categorized as Pacific Islanders they are a heterogeneous group with differences in biology, cultural adaptation to varied ecological settings, historical influences resulting from colonialism and present-day political factionalism. Yet, westernization on home islands and migration to Hawaii and the western United States have created similarities in disease patterns among these culturally diverse peoples. They have high rates of the chronic diseases of civilization: cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus and hypertension. Obesity, associated with these ailments, has become a major health problem among Pacific Islanders and may be attributed to changes in local food production and consumption in conjunction with sedentarization. Culturally and linguistically distinct from the American mainstream, these people as migrants or residents are marginal within the US social structure and find if difficult to obtain adequate medical treatment.