National data for this population is limited. While the cause is not always known, chronic liver disease can be initiated by conditions such as alcohol use disorder, obesity, and exposure to hepatitis B and C viruses.
- In 2021, non-Hispanic Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders were 60% less likely to die from chronic liver disease or cirrhosis than non-Hispanic whites.1
- Native Hawaiian adults were 40% more likely to have been diagnosed with liver disease in the past year than non-Hispanic white adults in 2014.2
- From 1998–2002,3
- American Samoan males were 8.1 times more likely to have liver and intrahepatic bile duct (IBD) cancer and 5.4 times more likely to die from this disease than non-Hispanic white males. Native Hawaiian males were about two times more likely to have and die from liver and IBD cancer than non-Hispanic white males.
- Native Hawaiian females were three times more likely to have and more than twice as likely to die from liver and IBD cancer than non-Hispanic white females.
Cancer Rates for Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders (1998–2002)
| Cancer incidence among males, rate per 100,000 population, 1998–2002 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | Ratio | ||||||
| Cancer | Native Hawaiian | Samoan | Tongan | Non-Hispanic White | Native Hawaiian / White Ratio | Samoan / White Ratio | Tongan / White Ratio |
| All Sites | 531.6 | 566.7 | 428.8 | 587.0 | 0.9 | 1.0 | 0.7 |
| Liver & IBD | 16.3 | 54.5 | -- | 6.7 | 2.4 | 8.1 | -- |
| Cancer incidence among females, rate per 100,000 population, 1998–2002 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | Ratio | ||||||
| Cancer | Native Hawaiian | Samoan | Tongan | Non-Hispanic White | Native Hawaiian / White Ratio | Samoan / White Ratio | Tongan / White Ratio |
| All Sites | 488.5 | 472.0 | 504.7 | 448.5 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 1.1 |
| Liver & IBD | 7.7 | -- | -- | 2.6 | 3.0 | -- | -- |
Diagnosed
| Adults age 18 who have been told by a doctor that they have chronic liver disease, age-adjusted percentage, 2018 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander | Non-Hispanic White | Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander / Non-Hispanic White Ratio | |
| -- | 1.6 | -- | |
| Adults age 18 and over with diagnosed liver disease in the past 12 months by Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander subgroup, age-adjusted percentage, 2014 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | Population / All NH/PI Ratio | Population / White Ratio | |
| White | 1.3 | 0.9 | -- |
| All NH/PI | 1.4 | -- | 1.1 |
| Native Hawaiian | 1.8 | 1.3 | 1.4 |
| Pacific Islander | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.8 |
| Samoan | -- | -- | -- |
| Guamanian or Chamorro | -- | -- | -- |
| Other Pacific Islander | -- | -- | -- |
Death Rates
| Cancer death rates among males, rate per 100,000 population, 1998–2002 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | Ratio | ||||
| Cancer | Native Hawaiian | Samoan | Non-Hispanic White | Native Hawaiian / White Ratio | Samoan / White Ratio |
| All Sites | 263.7 | 293.9 | 241.3 | 1.1 | 1.2 |
| Liver & IBD | 11.8 | 32.9 | 6.1 | 1.9 | 5.4 |
| Cancer death rates among females, rate per 100,000 population, 1998–2002 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | Ratio | ||||
| Cancer | Native Hawaiian | Samoan | Non-Hispanic White | Native Hawaiian / White Ratio | Samoan / White Ratio |
| All Sites | 198.9 | 209.3 | 171.7 | 1.2 | 1.2 |
| Liver & IBD | 6.4 | -- | 2.7 | 2.4 | -- |
| Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis mortality, age-adjusted rate per 100,000 population, 2021 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-Hispanic Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander | Non-Hispanic White | Non-Hispanic Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander / Non-Hispanic White Ratio | |
| Male | 12.3 | 25.4 | 0.5 |
| Female | -- | 15.1 | -- |
| Both Sexes | 8.1 | 20.2 | 0.4 |
1 CDC, 2024. Deaths: Final Data for 2021. National Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 73, No. 8. Table 10. (Back to top)
2 CDC, 2017. National Center for Health Statistics. Health Conditions and Behaviors of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Persons in the United States, 2014. Table 9. (Back to top)
3 National Cancer Institute, 2008. Cancer Incidence and Mortality Patterns among Specific Asian and Pacific Islander Populations in the U.S. (Back to top)