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At least 811 records · Page 45Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

Do Indo-Asians have smaller coronary arteries?

There is a widespread belief that coronary arteries are smaller in Indo-Asians. The aim of the present study was to compare the size of atheroma-free proximal and distal epicardial coronary arteries of Indo-Asians and Caucasians. We analysed normal coronary angiograms from 77 Caucasians and 39 Indo-Asians. The two groups were comparable for dominance of the coronary arteries. Indo-Asian patients had generally smaller coronary arteries, with a statistically significant difference in the mean diameters of the left main coronary artery, proximal, mid and left anterior descending, and proximal and distal right coronary artery segments. There was a non-significant trend towards smaller coronary artery segment diameters for the distal left anterior descending, proximal and distal circumflex, and obtuse marginal artery segments. However, after correction for body surface area, none of these differences in size were statistically significant. Thus, the smaller coronary arteries in Indo-Asian patients were explained by body size alone and were not due to ethnic origin per se. This finding nevertheless has important therapeutic implications, since smaller coronary arteries may give rise to technical difficulties during bypass graft and intervention procedures such as percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, stents and atherectomy. On smaller arteries, atheroma may also give an impression of more severe disease than on larger diameter arteries.

Asia↗
PubMed2004

ARTIST (Asian regional tobacco industry scientist team): Philip Morris' attempt to exert a scientific and regulatory agenda on Asia.

OBJECTIVE: To describe how the transnational tobacco industry has collaborated with local Asian tobacco monopolies and companies to promote a scientific and regulatory agenda. METHODS: Analysis of previously secret tobacco industry documents. RESULTS: Transnational tobacco companies began aggressively entering the Asia market in the 1980s, and the current tobacco industry in Asia is a mix of transnational and local monopolies or private companies. Tobacco industry documents demonstrate that, in 1996, Philip Morris led an organisation of scientific representatives from different tobacco companies called the Asian Regional Tobacco Industry Science Team (ARTIST), whose membership grew to include monopolies from Korea, China, Thailand, and Taiwan and a company from Indonesia. ARTIST was initially a vehicle for PM's strategies against anticipated calls for global smoke-free areas from a World Health Organization secondhand smoke study. ARTIST evolved through 2001 into a forum to present scientific and regulatory issues faced primarily by Philip Morris and other transnational tobacco companies. Philip Morris' goal for the organisation became to reach the external scientific and public health community and regulators in Asia. CONCLUSION: The Asian tobacco industry has changed from an environment of invasion by transnational tobacco companies to an environment of participation with Philip Morris' initiated activities. With this participation, tobacco control efforts in Asia face new challenges as Philip Morris promotes and integrates its scientific and regulatory agenda into the local Asian tobacco industry. As the local Asian tobacco monopolies and companies can have direct links with their governments, future implementation of effective tobacco control may be at odds with national priorities.

Asia↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Comparison of lactose intolerance in healthy Kuwaiti and Asian volunteers.

OBJECTIVE: To study and compare the incidence of lactose intolerance among Kuwaiti and Asian healthy volunteers as measured by breath hydrogen level following challenge with lactose drink. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The study involved 70 Kuwaiti and 79 Asian healthy volunteers. The volunteers were physicians, medical students and other hospital workers. The study was carried out prospectively at Amiri Hospital, Kuwait. None of the volunteers was sick or had taken antibiotics or any other drug that could influence breath hydrogen level 2 weeks prior to the study. After an overnight fast 20-ml baseline samples of exhaled air were collected from each volunteer prior to oral administration of 40 g of lactose drink. Following this, the same amount of exhaled air was collected at 30-min intervals for 2 h. All samples were analyzed for hydrogen level using a Quintron microlyzer. Hydrogen level of 20 ppm more than baseline value was considered positive. RESULTS: The basal breath hydrogen levels were 12.49 +/- 8.4 and 6.97 +/- 6.9 for Kuwaitis and Asians, respectively. Thirty-three (47%) of the 70 Kuwaitis and 46 (58%) of the 79 Asians were positive for the breath hydrogen test. The clinical symptoms of flatulence, abdominal pain, and diarrhea were associated with high levels of breath hydrogen. CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that the Kuwaiti volunteers had higher breath hydrogen levels than Asians, but the incidence of lactose intolerance was similar in both groups.

Abdominal Pain↗
PubMed1976

Plasma calcium levels in pregnant Asian women.

Plasma calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase, total protein, and albumin were measured during pregnancy in a group of Asian women living in the south of England and in a control group. The Asian women had slightly lower mean plasma calcium concentrations than the control group. Exposure of Asian women to sunshine appeared to be low, and it was inferred that they probably had little endogenous synthesis of cholecalciferol as a result. Both Asian and control subjects ingested similarly low amounts of vitamin D. The Asian women consumed greater amounts of phytate and vegetable fibres than the controls, and it is suggested that these substances may reduce absorption of insoluble lipids (including cholecalciferol) and calcium in a setting where the dietary intake and endogenous synthesis of vitamin D are already borderline for the subject's requirements.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗
PubMed1994

Asians presenting to a sex and marital therapy clinic.

This paper presents the findings of a retrospective analysis of the clinic registration forms and case files of Asian attenders of a sex and marital problems clinic over a three year period. An age/sex matched English control group was selected for comparison. Diagnoses, presenting patient complaints, sociodemographic characteristics, time between referral and first attendance and outcome of therapy were examined. Our samples of Asian and English attenders of equal educational and occupational status, when examined as two populations, did not differ in terms of diagnoses, sociodemographic characteristics, time from referral to first attendance and outcome of therapy. Differences in presenting complaints reflected individual unique evaluations of changed sexual functioning. There were, however, clearly problems for the Asian group related to differences of language and culture. It may be that our population of Asians was too heterogenous to enable a valid demonstration of these differences between English and Asian samples.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Social factors and first onset schizophrenia among Asians and whites.

Previous studies from the Indian subcontinent had suggested that the onset and outcome of schizophrenia is linked with social factors. We set out to study the inception rates and social factors in whites and Asians who were presenting for the first time ever to various catchment facilities in Ealing catchment area. A total of 62 cases (38 white and 24 Asians) were diagnosed as having schizophrenia. Using well established and previously validated standardised instruments we collected information on various social factors and inception rates of schizophrenia. The inception rates and social factors were largely similar in these two groups. By and large the social factors in the two groups were broadly similar except that Asians were significantly more likely to show increased religious activity compared with their white counterparts. Contrary to previous findings Asians were more likely to have had longer duration of symptoms prior to seeking help. These findings are discussed in relation to Asian support systems and suggestions made for future research.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Attitudes to organ donation among South Asians in an English high street.

In the UK, people of South Asian origin are at more than twice the risk of end-stage renal failure encountered in the Caucasian population but are under-represented among organ donors. Difficulties with matching mean that few donated kidneys are suitable for transplantation to South Asian recipients. A survey of attitudes in 100 South Asian adults was conducted in the main street of Southall, Middlesex. 90 of those questioned were aware of organ transplantation and 69 had heard about donor cards. However, the 16% who carried a donor card was lower than the 28% reported in the general population. The main reason for the low organ donation rate by South Asians seemed to be lack of knowledge, and this could be remedied by more targeting of information in the Asian media.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Sita's Trousseau: restorative justice, domestic violence, and South Asian culture.

This article focuses on the particular cultural factors that affect South Asian women who are abused and immigrant South Asian women who are abused, in particular, in the restorative justice process. By exploring cultural practices and the icon of Sita, the mythological heroine of the Ramayana, this article demonstrates how the South Asian ideals of womanhood and wifehood help to create a mind-set whereby South Asian women are reluctant to advocate for themselves and are reluctant to leave. Such a condition is contrary to the conditions and abilities assumed by the restorative justice movement for dispute resolution, inside or outside of domestic violence. It is concluded that restorative justice options are ill-suited to application among immigrant South Asian communities for domestic violence cases.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Leptin and adiponectin in relation to body fat percentage, waist to hip ratio and the apoB/apoA1 ratio in Asian Indian and Caucasian men and women.

BACKGROUND: Asian Indian immigrants have an increased risk for developing cardiovascular disease (CVD); however, there is very little data examining how the adipokines leptin and adiponectin relate to CVD risk factors such as body fat percentage (BF%), waist to hip ratio (WHR) and the apoB/apoA1 ratio in Asian Indian men and women living in Canada. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study comparing leptin, adiponectin, lipoproteins and anthropometric parameters in Asian Indian men and women to Caucasian men and women (4 groups). Anthropometric data (BMI, BF%, WHR), circulating lipids (apoA1, apoB, total cholesterol, and HDL-cholesterol), leptin and adiponectin were measured. RESULTS: Asian Indian men and women had higher leptin and lower adiponectin concentrations then Caucasian men and women, respectively. Leptin (positively) and adiponectin (negatively) correlated with anthropometric parameters and lipoproteins in all four groups. Using stepwise forward multiple regression, a model including TC/HDL-C ratio, WHR, BF%, hip circumference and waist circumference predicted 74.2% of leptin concentration in men. In women, apoB, BF%, waist circumference and age predicted 77.5% of leptin concentration. Adiponectin concentrations in men were predicted (30.2%) by HDL-C, total cholesterol, hip circumference and BF% while in women 41.2% of adiponectin concentration was predicted by the apoB/apoA1 ratio, WHR and age. CONCLUSION: As is evident from our data, there is a strong relationship between leptin, adiponectin, and abdominal obesity with increased CVD risk, as assessed by the apoB/apoA1 ratio. Dysregulation of these parameters may account for the increased risk of CVD in Asian Indians.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1991

A survey of psychiatrically ill Asian children.

This case-note survey compares a group of Asian children referred to child psychiatry and guidance clinics in Bolton with a control group of white children referred to the same clinics. The proportion of Asian children was less than the proportion of Asian people in the general population. The proportion of Asian children coming from a broken home or a single-parent family was significantly lower than in the control group. Conduct disorders were more common in the control group and somatoform disorders were more common in the Asian group.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2006

Domestic violence in the Chinese and South Asian immigrant communities.

Although the Chinese and South Asian immigrant populations are largely silent on this issue, domestic violence is a fact of life in many families. In this article, we discuss cultural factors that may cause and prolong abuse in Asian immigrant homes, and review similarities and differences between the two Asian cultures in this regard. This article also addresses the psychological trauma experienced by abused Asian immigrant women and the coping strategies that they are likely to employ. Culturally sensitive intervention strategies are presented that may be appropriately used in working with Chinese and South Asian immigrant women for whom abuse is a terrifying and demeaning fact of life.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Low prevalence of the N363S polymorphism of the glucocorticoid receptor in South Asians living in the United Kingdom.

Similarities between clinical states of glucocorticoid excess and obesity have raised suspicion of a link between the two conditions. An Asn363Ser (N363S) polymorphism in exon 2 of the glucocorticoid receptor has been associated with glucocorticoid sensitivity and excess adiposity in people of European origin. Compared with Europid populations, South Asians have a higher prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors, including type 2 diabetes and central obesity. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of the 363S allele in people of South Asian origin living in northeast England in relation to obesity and other cardiovascular risk factors. DNA from 142 males and 153 females was characterized for 363S allele status. Two N363S heterozygotes were identified; both subjects had raised body mass index and central obesity. Despite a higher prevalence of overweight (body mass index >/==" BORDER="0"> 25 kg/m(2)) people in the South Asian group compared with the Europid population in the same geographical area (66 vs. 56%, respectively), the 363S allele frequency was significantly lower in the South Asian group (0.3 vs. 3%, respectively). Therefore, the N363S polymorphism is unlikely to be an important factor in obesity and/or dysmetabolic traits in people of South Asian origin living in the United Kingdom.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Body composition, visceral fat, leptin, and insulin resistance in Asian Indian men.

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 hyperinsulinemic than Caucasians and that hyperinsulinemia may be important in the development of these diseases. To test whether insulin action was related to total or regional adiposity and to explore the potential role of plasma leptin and lipids, we measured insulin-mediated glucose disposal by the euglycemic insulin clamp, adipose distribution and muscle volume using computed axial tomography, and fasting serum leptin and lipid levels in 20 healthy Asian Indian male volunteers (age, 36 +/- 10 yr). A mean body mass index of 24.5 +/- 2.5 kg/m2 was associated with an unusually high percentage of body fat (33 +/- 7%). The majority of the fat was sc, and 16% was visceral (intraabdominal) adipose tissue. The majority (66%) of these nonobese men were insulin resistant. The mean fasting serum leptin level was 7.6 +/- 3.3 ng/mL. Insulin action was inversely correlated with visceral adipose tissue, not total or abdominal sc adipose tissue. In contrast, leptin levels correlated with sc and total (not visceral) adipose tissue. Serum triglyceride and high density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were inversely correlated with each other and were directly related to insulin resistance and visceral (not subcutaneous) fat. 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.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1995

Mediastinal lymph node size in an Asian population.

There is a high incidence of respiratory tuberculosis in the British population of Indian subcontinent (Asian) ethnic origin. Granulomatous diseases can cause long term lymph node enlargement. Separate computed tomography (CT) criteria for normal nodal size could therefore be necessary when staging thoracic malignancy in Asian patients. The objective of this study was to measure mediastinal lymph node size in an Asian population, and to correlate nodal size with previous tuberculosis. Chest CT scans on all Asian patients over a 5 year period were reviewed and those with pulmonary disease, malignancy or grossly distorted anatomy were excluded. The study group consisted of 48 patients (26 male, 22 female) aged 10-75 years (mean 47 years). All nodes were measured and the site of those greater than 7 mm was recorded using the American Thoracic Society (ATS) lymph node map. 81.3% of patients had nodes less than or equal to 7 mm at all ATS stations, 10.4% had nodes of 8-10 mm and 8.3% had nodes greater than 10 mm. All nodes measuring more than 7 mm were in regions 4R, 10R and 7. Fourteen patients had signs of previous tuberculosis, and in this group 50% had nodes greater than 7 mm as compared with 6% in the group with no signs of previous tuberculosis (p < 0.001, X2 test). Despite these differences only four of the 48 patients (8.3%) had nodes greater than 10 mm, which is in keeping with other general population studies. Thus the generally accepted size criteria for mediastinal lymph node enlargement (greater than 10 mm) can reasonably be applied to all Asian patients when staging lymphoma or bronchogenic carcinoma.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

The cinematic representation of Asian homosexuality in The Wedding Banquet.

Over the last decade, there has been an increasing number of western films which represent both homosexuals and Asian people. However, the homosexuals depicted in these films are often white, and the Asians are almost always heterosexual. In an attempt to account for the scarcity of western films containing Asian homosexuals, this paper aims to examine some of the common cinematic tropes and theoretical discourses used to depict and define both Asians and homosexuals. As one of the few feature-length films containing an Asian homosexual central character, Ang Lee's The Wedding Banquet will also be discussed.

Asia, Southeastern↗
PubMed2005

Sexuality and human rights: an Asian perspective.

In Asia, the lesbian and gay rights movements are clearly dominated by activists, who tend to think in terms of a binary opposition (homo- vs hetero-) and clear-cut categories. Based on "Western patterns," the approach is practical, the arguments based on minority rights. "Coming out" is often perceived as a "white model" bringing more problems than real freedom. On the contrary, "Asian values" put the emphasis on family and social harmony, often in contradiction to what is pictured as "lesbian and gay rights." Homophobia follows very subtle ways in Asian countries. Asian gays have to negotiate their freedom, lifestyle and identities in an atmosphere of heterosexism, and not the endemic violent homophobia prevalent in many western countries. In Asia, one's identity relates to one's position in the group and sexuality plays a relatively insignificant role in its cultural construction. That Asian gays often marry and have children shows the elasticity their sexual identity encompasses. Fluidity of sexuality does not really match the Western approach in terms of essentialist categories that have a right to exist. Most Asian societies can be thought of as "tolerant" as long as homosexuality remains invisible. Procreative sexuality can be seen as a social duty, and heterosexual marriage is often not considered incompatible with a "homosexual life." The development of the Internet has even facilitated the encounters while allowing secrecy. Unfortunately, the traditional figures of transgender and transvestites have often been separated from the gay liberation movement.

Asia↗
PubMed2005

Hypersensitivity reactions to oxaliplatin in two asian patients.

OBJECTIVE: To report 2 cases of hypersensitivity reactions associated with oxaliplatin treatment in Asian patients. CASE SUMMARIES: A 33-year-old Chinese woman received adjuvant oxaliplatin in combination with fluorouracil and leucovorin. Shortly during her sixth infusion, she developed a severe hypersensitivity reaction. Despite prophylactic measures, she developed another reaction of similar severity during her subsequent infusion and was not further rechallenged with oxaliplatin. The second case involved a 45-year-old Malay woman who received oxaliplatin, fluorouracil, and leucovorin for metastatic colorectal cancer. Shortly during her ninth infusion, she developed a mild hypersensitivity reaction. With prophylactic measures, she developed less marked reactions with her subsequent 3 infusions. DISCUSSION: Hypersensitivity reactions to oxaliplatin have been reported to be between 12% and 16% in the Western population. As of April 20, 2005, there are only 2 previously published reports of hypersensitivity reactions to oxaliplatin in 6 Asian patients. The incidence rates of such reactions in different Asian ethnic groups could vary. The cumulative dose, time of exposure to oxaliplatin, and clinical features were variable and unpredictable in all of the reported Asian patients who developed hypersensitivity reactions. An objective causality assessment using the Naranjo probability scale revealed that oxaliplatin was the highly probable cause of hypersensitivity in the 2 Asian patients reported by our center. CONCLUSIONS: Patients who develop mild to moderate reactions can be rechallenged with the drug administered as a slow infusion with prophylactic measures. Desensitization may allow patients who experience severe hypersensitivity reactions to oxaliplatin to further receive effective therapy for their colorectal cancer.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

JC virus genotypes in the western Pacific suggest Asian mainland relationships and virus association with early population movements.

Distinct genotypes of human polyomavirus JC (JCV) have remained population associated possibly from the time of dispersal of modern humans from Africa. Seven major genotypes with additional subtypes serve as plausible markers for following early and more recent human migrations in all parts of the world. Phylogenetic trees of JCV sequences from the major continental population groups show a trifurcation at the base indicating early division into European, African, and Asian branches. Here, we have explored JCV relationships in the island populations of the western Pacific. Since these islands were settled from the Asian mainland and islands of Southeast Asia, we expected that their virus genotypes might show an Asian connection. We found that Type 2E (Austronesian) and Type 8 (non-Austronesian) are widely distributed in western Pacific populations. A few south China strains were found (Type 7A). A subtype of Type 8, Type 8A, was confined to Papua New Guinea. In keeping with these assignments we find that phylogenetic analysis by neighbor-joining and maximum parsimony methods places Type 2E in a closer relationship to east Asian mainland strains such as Type 2A and Type 7. Our findings support the Asian origins of the western Pacific JCV strains, and suggest three broad movements: an ancient one characterized by Type 8A, and then Type 8B, followed much later by migrations carrying Type 2E, which may correlate with the arrival of Austronesian-language speakers, the bearers of the "Lapita" cultural complex (approximately 3,500 to 5,000 years ago), and relatively recent movements carrying largely Type 7A (south China) strains directly from the West.

Adult↗