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PubMedDate not supplied

Facial aesthetic preferences among Asian women: are all oriental Asians the same?

BACKGROUND: Oriental Asians have specific aesthetic priorities. However, a common perception is that expectations from cosmetic surgery are similar. The possibility of different beauty criteria between seemingly similar appearing oriental Asians is not recognized. This investigation aimed to identify where a difference in aesthetic values exists between various oriental Asians. METHODS: The study was based on a survey regarding facial aesthetics conducted with two selected groups: 50 Korean and 50 Japanese women. Preferences regarding the periorbital region, nose, lip features, and overall harmony of the face were surveyed. RESULTS: Significant differences in preferred beauty features were identified, especially with regard to the periorbital region. Although a supratarsal crease was found to be desirable in both groups, Koreans preferred a larger fold paralleling the lid margin, with elimination of the epicanthal fold. Japanese women desired thinner lips, with more delicate facial features. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrate that there is a difference between oriental Asian aesthetic values. Plastic surgeons should be sensitive to different ethnic concepts of beauty and appreciate a range of values rather than assume that all Asians simply prefer "occidentalization."

Attitude↗
PubMed1991

General practitioners' perceptions of Asian and non-Asian patients.

The literature on the health of the population of Asian origin contains little on their interaction with primary care services. This paper reports results of a postal survey of GPs' attitudes towards Asian and Non-Asian patients. The response rate was 78%-141 of the 182 GPs replied. Compared with non-Asian patients, GPs held less positive attitudes towards Asian origin patients who were thought to require longer for consultations, be less compliant, and make excessive and inappropriate use of health services. These perceptions have implications for patient care and the GP workload.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Macrolide resistance and genotypic characterization of Streptococcus pneumoniae in Asian countries: a study of the Asian Network for Surveillance of Resistant Pathogens (ANSORP).

OBJECTIVES: To characterize mechanisms of macrolide resistance among Streptococcus pneumoniae from 10 Asian countries during 1998-2001. METHODS: Phenotypic and genotypic characterization of the isolates and their resistance mechanisms. RESULTS: Of 555 isolates studied, 216 (38.9%) were susceptible, 10 (1.8%) were intermediate and 329 (59.3%) were resistant to erythromycin. Vietnam had the highest prevalence of erythromycin resistance (88.3%), followed by Taiwan (87.2%), Korea (85.1%), Hong Kong (76.5%) and China (75.6%). Ribosomal methylation encoded by erm(B) was the most common mechanism of erythromycin resistance in China, Taiwan, Sri Lanka and Korea. In Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, efflux encoded by mef(A) was the more common in erythromycin-resistant isolates. In most Asian countries except Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore, erm(B) was found in >50% of pneumococcal isolates either alone or in combination with mef(A). The level of erythromycin resistance among pneumococcal isolates in most Asian countries except Thailand and India was very high with MIC(90)s of >128 mg/L. Molecular epidemiological studies suggest the horizontal transfer of the erm(B) gene and clonal dissemination of resistant strains in the Asian region. CONCLUSION: Data confirm that macrolide resistance in pneumococci is a serious problem in many Asian countries.

Alleles↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Outreach strategies for Southeast Asian communities: experience, practice, and suggestions for approaching Southeast Asian immigrant and refugee communities to provide thalassemia education and trait testing.

This article outlines general strategies for outreaching to Southeast Asian immigrant and refugee communities with thalassemia education. Because of positive net migration and increased birthrates during the last 15 years, Asian Pacific Islanders are among the fastest growing populations in California. Dr. Fred Lorey of California Newborn Screening shows that 1 of 12 Southeast Asians is a carrier of hemoglobin E, demonstrating a particular need to outreach to these communities. The challenge of educating Southeast Asian populations include language barriers, differences in cultural and/or religious beliefs, geographic location, and unfamiliarity with and/ or mistrust of Western health care systems. In addition, outreach workers must consider the great diversity of ethnicity, language, literacy, and education levels, and degree of acculturation to the US within the Asian/Southeast Asian groups. It is crucial before embarking on any outreach campaign to understand the history and make-up of the target audience, including ethnic minorities and dialects, to translate written materials into appropriate languages or audio formats, and to have a group of trained interpreters for events. Additionally, a continuing education model for the outreach/medical staff is important to maintain robust understanding of these diverse communities. Specific strategies include using visual aids, medical professionals as authority figures, and bicultural high school and college students during presentations. Finally, establishing trust and maintaining a continued presence in communities are the most important aspects of a successful outreach campaign.

Asia, Southeastern↗
PubMed2004

Knowledge and practice: the risk of cardiovascular disease among Asian Indians. Results from focus groups conducted in Asian Indian communities in Northern California.

OBJECTIVE: The focus groups were utilized to gather information on the perceptions of cardiovascular risk within the Asian Indian community, and to identify opportunities to design health promotion and intervention programs for Asian Indian communities. DESIGN: Qualitative methods were utilized to obtain perceptions of cardiovascular risk within 3 Asian Indian communities. Eight focus groups were conducted in either English or Punjabi. SETTING: These focus groups were conducted as part of a 3-year community-based participatory research project examining cardiovascular risk factors among the Asian Indian population in Northern California. PARTICIPANTS: Focus group participants were selected through referrals from community-based organizations, postings in local community centers, and businesses. Fifty-seven men and women were recruited using snowball sampling. RESULTS: Six themes emerged from the focus groups: knowledge of cardiovascular disease, health and cultural concerns regarding diet, physical activity levels, stress as a factor for cardiovascular disease, acculturation concerns, and cardiovascular prevention ideas. CONCLUSIONS: The use of focus groups was an effective method for gathering information on perceptions of cardiovascular risk, and collecting information on risk behaviors within these Asian Indian communities. In this study, we found that psychosocial and cultural factors, especially cultural issues concerning stress and acculturation, surfaced as key elements across all 8 focus groups.

Acculturation↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The Asian Tobacco Education, Cancer Awareness and Research's role in tobacco and cancer control efforts in Asian American communities.

PURPOSE: This article identifies the urgent needs for tobacco and cancer control in Asian American communities and the barriers that have historically prevented the development and implementation of tobacco and cancer prevention and intervention research programs among Asian Americans residing in Delaware Valley region of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. This article also presents ATECAR, the first long-term federal effort in tobacco and cancer control targeting the multi-ethnic Asian American communities in this area. METHODS: ATECAR uses a three-pronged approach: the development of community and university infrastructure, the development of training programs for minority and underserved students so that they will pursue cancer research careers, and community-based intervention research projects. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: ATECAR's pioneering work redefined our understanding of Asian Americans' smoking habits and the important role of smoking, especially in newly immigrated communities. CONCLUSION: The advent of ATECAR marks the building of a viable infrastructure that can ensure sustainability of current and future efforts in tobacco control and use.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Type 2 diabetes in South Asians: a pathophysiologic focus on the Asian-Indian epidemic.

There is a high prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus and coronary artery disease among urban and migrant Asian Indians, despite the absence of traditional risk factors. Evidence exists that Asian Indians are more insulin resistant than white persons and that insulin resistance may play an important role in the pathogenesis of these diseases. Increased visceral fat in Asian Indians is associated with increased generalized obesity, which is not apparent from their nonobese body mass index. Increased visceral fat is related to dyslipidemia and increased frequency of insulin resistance and may account for the increased prevalence of diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease in Asian Indians. In addition, early protein energy deprivation, as indicated by low weight at birth and at 1 year of age, may induce a state of vulnerability to the development of type 2 diabetes in later life, especially if the quantitative and qualitative aspects of nutrition and altered lifestyles during adult years pose an additional challenge.

Asian People↗
PubMed2004

Immunosuppression use in renal transplantation from Asian transplant centers: a preliminary report from the Asian Transplant Registry.

Since the first renal transplant (RTx) in 1956 in Asia in Japan, over 100,000 RTx have been performed in over 300 centers across the region. A survey was conducted to evaluate immunosuppression (IS) use among Asian RTx. Briefly, directors of RTx centers were surveyed regarding IS use for RTx performed at their centers in 2001 for (1) induction therapy, (2) maintenance IS therapy at hospital discharge, (3) antirejection treatment (REJ) to 1 year post-RTx, and (4) maintenance IS therapy to 1 year post-RTx. Categories and types of IS included in the survey were polyclonal antilymphocyte antibodies (PAB), OKT3, IL2 receptor antibodies (IL2RAb), corticosteroids (CS), cyclosporine (CyA), tacrolimus (Tac), azathioprine (Aza), mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), Mizoribine (Miz), Sirolimus (Sir), and other agents. Though only 17 RTx centers in Asia responded to the survey, a wide variation in IS use was demonstrated. In the 334 living and 85 cadavericRTx among whom actual usage was reported, induction therapy was used in only 18.4% of Asian RTx (14.1%, IL2RAb; 4.3%, PAB), in contrast to the 59.3% reported as using induction IS among RTx from the UNOS database in the same year. For maintenance therapy at hospital discharge, 87.1% of Asian RTx received CyA-based IS while only 12.4% received Tac-based therapy. This is in contrast to the 55.3% use of Tac for new RTx in the United States. Generic CyA has widespread use in Asia with over 29.9% on CyA using generic versus the Neoral formulation. Azathioprine is still the predominant antimetabolite in use in Asian RTx, with MMF being used in only 33.6% of patients, in contrast to its 77% usage in the United States. Usage of Tac and MMF for maintenance therapy was significantly higher among cadavericRTx (P < .005). Corticosteroids were used in 51.1% of REJ episodes while PAB or OKT3 were used in 31.9% and 17% of REJ episodes, respectively. As these results may be skewed due to participation of few centers in the survey, greater participation will ensure more accurate evaluation of immunosuppression use in Asia for de novo RTx.

Asia↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Asians, Asian-Americans and alcohol.

The association of flushing (vasodilation, reddening of the skin) with the alcohol use of Asians and Asian-Americans is examined. Historical changes in alcohol use, recent secular changes in alcohol use, and marked differences in consumption among Asian populations and among Asian-Americans of the same national origins, as well as the lack of reduction of sex differences among flushers, indicate that flushing has little influence on alcohol consumption. Social, psychological, and cultural influences seem to be more adequate explanatory devices with regard to Oriental alcohol use.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1998

Soy intake and risk of breast cancer in Asians and Asian Americans.

Evidence from case-control studies suggests, although not entirely consistently, that soy intake may protect against breast cancer. The designs and findings of studies conducted in Asian women living in Japan, Singapore, China, and the United States are reviewed. Because of the considerably higher intake of soy by native Asians than by Asian Americans living in California and Hawaii, these studies investigated different segments of the dose-response relation between soy intake and breast cancer risk. Data are not sufficient to determine the amount or frequency of soy intake effective in protecting against breast cancer. Of concern is that soy intake may be homogeneously high in Asia, making it difficult to identify differences in breast cancer risk between high and moderate daily consumers. In studies conducted in Asian Americans, it is difficult to be certain that soy intake is not a marker of other factors related to Western lifestyle that are causally associated with risk of breast cancer. Additional studies assessing the role of soy and breast cancer are needed. These studies should assess intake of all food sources of soy, considering portion size as well as other dietary and nondietary factors that may confound the soy-breast cancer association. A better understanding of the mechanisms whereby soy intake may influence the risk of breast cancer is also needed. Dietary intervention studies with soy will provide information on the acute effects of soy on endogenous hormone concentrations. Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies are necessary to investigate the longer-term relations between hormone concentrations and soy intake in women.

Asian↗
PubMed2003

Genetic differences in interleukin-1 betapolymorphisms among four Asian populations: an analysis of the Asian paradox between H. pylori infection and gastric cancer incidence.

The prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection is high among Asian populations, but the incidences of gastric cancer differ greatly among northern and southern Asian populations. Here, we studied histopathological findings in stomach tissue using an updated Sydney System and the frequencies of interleukin (IL)-1betapolymorphisms, thought to be associated with an increased risk of gastric cancer, in four Asian populations. Endoscopic-guided biopsies from three regions of the stomach and the -511 T-to-C polymorphism in the IL-1betagene were examined in 228 Japanese, 116 Chinese, 159 Thai and 83 Vietnamese patients with gastric diseases. H. pylori colonization, inflammation and activity were more severe in the Japanese and Thai populations than in the Chinese and Vietnamese populations and these scores were more antrum-predominant in the Thai and Vietnamese populations than in the Japanese and Chinese populations, with the most severe degree of atrophy and intestinal metaplasia occurring in the angulus region of the Japanese population. The IL-1betapolymorphisms did not differ among the four populations overall, but in cases with severe mucosal atrophy (pepsinogen I/II ratio <3.0), the CC polymorphism was dominant in the Japanese population and the TT+TC polymorphism was dominant in the Chinese population; no difference in C and T allele frequencies was found in the Thai and Vietnamese populations. In conclusion, the incidence of gastric cancer is extremely low, but the prevalence of H. pylori infection is high in the Thai population (Asian paradox). In the Thai population, the scores for corpus gastritis and intestinal metaplasia, which are associated with a high risk of gastric cancer, were low in comparison with the Japanese population. IL-1betapolymorphisms were correlated with mucosal atrophy in the Japanese and Chinese populations, but not in the Thai and Vietnamese populations.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Gross cystic disease fluid protein in nipple aspirates of breast fluid of Asian and non-Asian women.

Gross cystic disease fluid protein 15 (GCDFP-15) is universally present in the apocrine metaplastic epithelium of cystic breast disease and breast cancer, but it is rarely found in normal breast epithelium. Therefore GCDFP-15 detected in nipple aspirates of breast fluid (NAF) could serve as a biochemical marker of the presence and possibly extent of apocrine metaplasia within the breast. GCDFP-15 levels were measured in NAF from 37 Asian and 78 non-Asian women using radioimmunoassay. GCDFP-15 (range, 0-81,643 micrograms/ml) was found in the NAF of all but 1 woman and was highly correlated between right and left breasts. Mean concentrations of GCDFP-15 were significantly lower in NAF from Asian compared with non-Asian women. Markedly reduced levels of GCDFP-15 were found in the 17 women who had been parous in the previous 2 years. In women not parous within the prior 2 years, no relationship was found between GCDFP-15 levels and age, weight, age at menarche, first-degree family history of breast cancer, parity, oral contraceptive use, or smoking history. High concentrations of GCDFP-15 were found in the NAF of women with a history of a benign breast biopsy. Because similarly high levels of GCDFP-15 were found in NAF in over 40% of women without a history of benign breast biopsy, and because GCDFP-15 in the breast is produced only by apocrine metaplastic epithelium, we infer that the breasts of these women likely contain a significant degree of apocrine metaplasia.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Possible ethnic differences in plasma homocysteine levels associated with coronary artery disease between south Asian and east Asian immigrants.

BACKGROUND: Hyperhomocysteinemia has been identified as a risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD). South Asians appear to have a high incidence of CAD, while East Asians have a very low incidence. HYPOTHESIS: The present study was undertaken because the relative association of plasma homocysteine levels (PH) with CAD in South Asians (SA = Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan) and East Asians (EA = Chinese, Japanese) is not known. METHODS: Fasting PH were drawn on all patients with CAD of SA (age 62.4+/-1.1 years, 72 men, 14 women) and EA (age 61.8+/-3.0 years, 13 men, 4 women) descent. These were compared with PH available from Caucasian (CA) patients (age 61.1+/-1.1 years, 89 men, 17 women) with CAD. RESULTS: The PH in SA, EA, and CA patients were 11.0+/-0.5, 7.6+/-0.5, and 10.8+/-0.6 micromol/l, respectively (p<0.001 between EA and SA/CA). Percentages of SA, EA, and CA with elevated PH (> 12.0 micromol/l) were 33.7, 5.9, and 28.2%, respectively. There were no significant differences in the lipid subfractions between the SA and EA group. History of smoking was significantly higher in the EA (52.9 vs. 26.2%), while hypertension and diabetes mellitus had similar prevalences. CONCLUSION: Significant differences in PH of SA versus EA patients with CAD exist. The relative contribution of homocysteine in the development of CAD appears to be less in EA immigrants. In contrast, the association between CAD and PH in SA immigrants appears to be similar to that of Caucasians.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1999

Spread of drug-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae in Asian countries: Asian Network for Surveillance of Resistant Pathogens (ANSORP) Study.

Antimicrobial susceptibility of 996 isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae from clinical specimens was investigated in 11 Asian countries from September 1996 to June 1997. Korea had the greatest frequency of nonsusceptible strains to penicillin with 79.7%, followed by Japan (65.3%), Vietnam (60.8%), Thailand (57.9%), Sri Lanka (41.2%), Taiwan (38.7%), Singapore (23.1%), Indonesia (21.0%), China (9.8%), Malaysia (9.0%), and India (3.8%). Serotypes 23F and 19F were the most common. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) of 154 isolates from Asian countries showed several major PFGE patterns. The serotype 23F Spanish clone shared the same PFGE pattern with strains from Korea, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Malaysia. Fingerprinting analysis of pbp1a, pbp2x, and pbp2b genes of 12 strains from six countries also showed identical fingerprints of penicillin-binding protein genes in most strains. These data suggest the possible introduction and spread of international epidemic clones into Asian countries and the increasing problems of pneumococcal drug resistance in Asian countries for the first time.

Aminoacyltransferases↗
PubMed1980

Counseling Asians: psychotherapy in the context of racism and Asian-American history.

The historical experience of Asian immigrants to the United States is outlined, and implications for counseling and psychotherapy with Asian-Americans are considered. It is suggested that, in charting therapeutic goals for Asians, three major factors must be taken into account: 1) when and why Asians migrated to the United States, and where they settled; 2) the number of years, and the impact, of public education; and 3) conflicting cultural norms that complicate the acculturation process.

Acculturation↗
PubMed1978

Psychiatric education and training of Asian and Asian-American psychiatrists.

The Asian and Asian-American physician in a standard psychiatric residency is faced with discrimination at several levels, as well as special problems of professional role confusion and personal identity, all of which can create barriers to professional development and productivity. Further, most standard psychiatric residencies do not include teaching or supervision specific to treating Asian patients. The author proposes the establishment of a specialized program, focusing on ethnic minority groups, within a general psychiatric residency; he discusses specific features of such a program. This approach may help to alleviate the problem of inadequate resources for handling the mental health problems of Asian-Americans and underutilization of mental health resources by this group.

Asia↗
PubMed1996

Reference intervals of CD3, CD4, CD8, CD4/CD8, and absolute CD4 values in Asian and Non-Asian populations.

A study to determine reference intervals in normal Asian and non-Asian populations for CD3 (T cells), CD4 (T helper/inducer cells), CD8 (T suppressor/cytotoxic cells), and for the CD4/CD8 ratio and absolute CD4 lymphocyte count was performed. Coulter Clone/Cytostat reagents were used. The samples were lysed using the Coulter Q-Prep and analyzed on the Coulter Profile II flow cytometer. The Asian population appeared to have a lower mean percentage of CD3 and CD4 cells, a lower CD4/CD8 ratio, and lower absolute CD4 lymphocytes. These findings indicate that race should be a consideration in determining reference intervals for immunophenotyping for CD3, CD4, and CD8.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Regional distribution of two related Northeast Asian genotypes of JC virus, CY-a and -b: implications for the dispersal of Northeast Asians.

JC virus (JCV) is a useful marker to trace human dispersal. Two genotypes of JCV (MY and CY) are mainly distributed in Northeast Asia. The population history of people carrying MY has been studied in some detail but that of people carrying CY remains poorly understood. To gain insights into the population history of Northeast Asians carrying CY we analyzed the genetic variation in CY isolates. We constructed a neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree from 28 complete CY DNA sequences: on the resultant tree the CY DNA sequences diverged into two clades, designated CY-a and -b, each clustered with a high bootstrap probability. The split into CY-a and -b was estimated to have occurred about 10 000 years ago, based on K(s) values (synonymous substitutions per synonymous site) and the suggested rate of synonymous nucleotide substitutions. Comparison of the 28 complete CY sequences revealed six nucleotide mismatches between CY-a and -b, one of which showed a restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). We then PCR-amplified a region of the genome containing this polymorphic site from many CY isolates in various Northeast Asian populations and classified the isolates into CY-a or -b according to the RFLP analysis. CY-a was more abundant than CY-b in various Chinese and Japanese populations but CY-b was more abundant than CY-a in South Koreans. On the basis of the present findings we inferred the population history in East Asians carrying CY.

Asia↗