Prescription drug misuse among Asian-American adults: results from a national survey.

Asians have low levels of substance use compared with other groups in the United States. Given the increase in Asian population, we believe it is important to study substance use in this population. Data from the 2002-2003 National Latino and Asian American Study are examined to address two questions. First, which Asian ethnic subgroup is at greatest risk for prescription drug misuse? Second, is acculturation significantly correlated with prescription drug misuse among Asians? Findings indicate that Filipinos are at the greater risk for prescription drug misuse. Also, Asians who are more acculturated are at greater risk for prescription drug misuse.