The fear of becoming a victim of a hate crime is a risk factor for poorer health among older Asians.
By
Laura López González
Illustration by Lingsheng Li
Older San Franciscans’ fear of becoming a victim of anti-Asian hate may be driving a hidden epidemic of isolation and poorer health, a new UC San Francisco study shows.
What’s new: Fearful of becoming a victim of anti-Asian hate, older, Asian San Franciscans are choosing to spend more time at home, forgoing activities that they previously loved, like exercising, seeing loved ones and dining out, suggests the research published as a letter in the journal, JAMA Internal Medicine. This increased isolation may be fueling poorer mental and physical health among the city’s elderly Asian community if results from 80 in-depth interviews among Asian residents 50 years and older and local clinicians are anything to go by.
“We heard a lot of stories about people avoiding going outside to exercise and grocery shop,” explains UCSF Division of Geriatrics fellow Lingsheng Li, MD, MHS. Li carried out the research, alongside a team of UCSF faculty, staff and learners. “Those activities are essential for well-being and quality of life – especially for older adults who are already isolated in the community.”
“Some people even avoided going to the doctor’s office because it required them to get on a bus, which is where many of these attacks have happened.”
The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health.
Among the 20 San Francisco health clinicians interviewed, many reported that isolation exacerbated…
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