The Japanese population is known to have one of the highest life expectancies for any group in the world (Curb et al., 1990). However, there still are several health conditions prevalent in the Japanese community. The most common health conditions in this community are hypertension, arthritis, diabetes, and gout (Curb et al., 1990).

Hypertension

The traditional Japanese diet is high in salt, with foods such as soy sauce, meats, fish, and pickled vegetables (Tanabe). As a high salt diet is a risk factor for hypertension, it is important that Japanese patients be educated about the importance of a low salt diet in reducing their risk.

Cardiovascular disease and stroke

The rate of mortality from cardiovascular disease is much lower in Japanese populations than for Caucasians (Iso et al., 1989). This is likely due to genetic differences which lead to different levels of coagulation factors between these two populations, as well as lifestyle differences, particularly diet (Iso et al., 1989). For example, although the Japanese diet is high in salt content, it is low in fat and protein from animal sources, reducing risks of cardiovascular disease (Reed, 1990).

Interestingly, stroke rates are much higher among Japanese than Caucasian populations (Iso et al., 1989). Research has shown that similar factors may contribute to both the high rates of cardiovascular disease and to the low rates of stroke (Reed, 1990). These factors are low serum cholesterol levels, high alcohol intake, and the high salt Japanese diet (Reed, 1990). Japanese patients must be educated to reduce their intake of alcohol and to maintain a low salt diet to decrease stroke risk.

Mental Illness

In the Japanese community, medical care is often not sought for mental illness due to the great stigma associated with it in Asian cultures. Individuals are concerned with maintaining family honour and thus may conceal mental illnesses which may affect themselves or members of their family (Tanabe).

Additionally, the behaviour of Japanese women is often misunderstood and mistaken for mental illness (Galanti, 2004). Japanese culture encourages women to be quiet and respectful to authority, not questioning superiors and often avoiding eye contact. Japanese women are often perceived as overly withdrawn and inconspicuous, leading to wrongful diagnoses in some cases (Galanti, 2004).

Osteoporosis

Studies show that bone mineral density is lower in women of Asian descent than in Caucasian populations (Liang et al., 2007). This is due to lower levels of calcium in most Asian diets; research shows that while Caucasians consume an average of 795 mg of calcium per day, Asians consume only 607 mg (Liang et al., 2007). Also, there may be some genetic factors which have an effect on bone mineral density (Liang et al., 2007).

As bone mineral density is an important element in predicting osteoporosis in the future, it is important to emphasize the importance of dairy products in the diet of Japanese patients, and in some cases to introduce dietary calcium supplementation (Liang et al., 2007).

References:

Curb, J.D., Reed, D.M., Miller F.D. & Yano, K. (1990). Health status and life style in elderly Japanese men with a long life expectancy. Journal of Gerontology, 45, (5), S206-211.
Galanti, G.A. Caring for Patients from Different Cultures. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004.
Iso, H., Folsom, A.R., Wu, K.K., Finch, A., Munger, R.G., Sato, S., Shimamoto, T., Terao, A. & Komachi, Y. (1989). Hemostatic variables in Japanese and Caucasian men. Plasma fibrinogen, facter VIIc, factor VIIIc, and vonWillebrand factor and their relations to cardiovascular disease risk factors. American Journal of Epidemiology, 130, (5), 925-934.
Liang, M.T.C., Bassin, S., Dutto, D., Braun, W., Wong, N., Pontello, A.M., Cooper, D.M. & Arnaud, S.B. Bone mineral density and leg muscle strength in young Caucasian, Hispanic, and Asian women. Journal of Clinical Densitometry, 10, (2), 157-164.
Tanabe, M.K.G. Health and Health Care of Japanese-American Elders. Department of Geriatric Medicine, John A. Burns School of Medicine. Available: http://www.stanford.edu/group/ethnoger/japanese.html