Ethnic Origin Groups Research Articles

The use of nutritional supplements by 4-12 year olds in England and Scotland.

To determine the levels of and factors associated with the use of nutritional supplements by children participating in the National Study of Health and Growth (NSHG). Cross-sectional study. Fifty-six study areas in England and Scotland. Fifteen thousand, two hundred and seventy five children aged between 4 and 12 y. Parental completion of a self-administered questionnaire on the child's health, social background and supplement use. Height, weight and skinfold measurements. An 88% response rate to the supplement question, 15.9% of responders reported using a supplement. Multivitamins were the most commonly consumed supplement (84%) with 52% taking a supplement daily. Younger children, those whose mothers reached further education, whose fathers were in non-manual occupations or who lived in the Midlands or South were significantly more likely to use a supplement, as were children from smaller families or whose parents were non-smokers. There was no significant association between supplement use and sex, height, birthweight, length of gestation, father's education, number of parents in the home or vegetarianism. Significant differences were found in the use of supplements between the ethnic origin groups. Children of Afro-Caribbean, Asian or other origin were more likely to take a supplement compared to white English and Scottish groups. There were differences in the type of supplements used with Afro-Caribbean and other origin children using more cod liver oil. We support the findings of other studies which show that children with the least need for supplements as defined by socio-economic variables are more likely to receive them and suggest that cultural background is also an important factor in influencing supplement use. This study was supported by grants from the Department of Health in England and the Scottish Home and Health Department.

Ethnicity and Small Business Ownership: Contrasts between Blacks and Chinese in Toronto

Small business ownership is considered an important channel through which minority and immigrant groups escape labour market disadvantage in the mainstream economy (Light 1972; Waldinger 1986a). However, business self-employment is affected by individual and group attributes and dimensions of opportunity structures provided by the social environ ment (Boyd 1991a). A Toronto survey of self-employment among selected ethnic origin groups by Reitz (1990) shows that Chinese and West Indians have a participation rate of 14.1 and 5.5 per cent respectively. In Canada as a whole, Blacks had a self-employment rate of 4 per cent compared to a rate of 11 per cent for Chinese. Similarly, Blacks had an unemployment rate of 12 per cent, which was the highest rate among minority English speakers (Cote 1991). A high level of unemployment within a group is an objective indication of the low level of self-employment participation within the group. A low rate of self-employment among Blacks is not unique to Canada. Studies in Britain and the United States also show Black under representation in business ownership (Light 1972, 1979, 1980, 1984; Wilson and Martin 1982; Ward and Jenkins 1984; Aldrich and Waldinger 1990). For example, African Americans comprise the most disadvantaged segment of the US labour force, yet they have the lowest rate of self employment compared to other groups (Light 1972; Lieberson 1980). Three processes account for the total number of minority business enter prises: business formation, growth, and failure. A combination of low business formation and high failure produces a low participation rate (Stevens 1984).

Use of the terms 'race', 'ethnicity', and 'national origins': a review of articles in the American Journal of Public Health, 1980-1989.

To assess the use of the categories of race, ethnicity, and national origin in recent public health research. We reviewed all research articles on human populations published in the American Journal of Public Health from January 1980 through December 1989. Articles were classified by (1) mention of the categories, (2) use of the categories, (3) presence of explicit definitions, and (4) definitional criteria. Specific categories (e.g. 'black', 'Chinese', 'Hispanic') or generic categories (e.g. 'race', 'ethnicity', 'national origin') were mentioned in 461 (50.4%) of 914 articles on human populations. In most studies (65.1%), single categories (e.g. race or ethnicity) were considered; in 1.3% of studies, two terms (e.g. both race and ethnicity) were examined independently; in 1.3%, categories were used interchangeably; in 5.6% of the studies, combined categories (e.g. race-ethnicity) were used; and in 27.5% of the studies, specific population groups were named without reference to a generic category. Explicit definitions of categories were present in only 8.4% of the articles in which the categories were considered. Absence of explicit definitions and use of combined and interchangeable categories suggest a lack of clarity and conceptual consistency in research on race, ethnicity, and national origin-related topics. To improve our assessment of differences in health status among racial, ethnic, and national origin groups, research involving these categories should assess their validity and should define concepts clearly, explicitly, and consistently. Such research would minimize misclassification, improve the interpretation of findings, facilitate comparison among studies, and enhance the understanding of causes underlying differences in health status among populations of different racial, ethnic, and national origins.

Attitudes toward rape: Gender and ethnic differences across Asian and Caucasian college students

Previous research has demonstrated that males have a greater tendency to hold erroneous beliefs about rape than females. However, limited cross-cultural studies, particularly of Asians, have been done in this area. The present investigation examined attitudes toward rape victims and belief in rape myths across 302 Asian and Caucasian college students. Subjects were recruited from two college campuses in Orange County, California, and were from predominantly middle-income backgrounds. None of the Caucasian students and a minority (36.25%) of the Asian subjects identified their particular ethnic group(s) of origin. Of the Asian subjects who specified their ethnicity, the majority were of Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander descent. Results indicated significant differences across ethnicity and gender. Asians were more likely to endorse negative attitudes toward rape victims and greater belief in rape myths than their Caucasian counterparts; males endorsed greater negativity toward rape victims and more acceptance of rape myths than did females. Asian subjects who endorsed greater acculturation (Western affiliation) differed significantly from low acculturated subjects on all dependent variables. Results are discussed in regard to cross-cultural differences and gender. Culturally sensitive rape awareness outreach targeting potentially high risk groups, such as Asian college students, is encouraged.

Clustering and clinical diversity of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma associated with HTLV-I in a remote black population of French Guiana.

An epidemiological study was performed in French Guiana (population 115,000) to determine the prevalence and incidence of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) associated with human T-cell leukemia/lymphoma virus type I (HTLV-I). From January 1990 to December 1993, all suspected cases of ATL were enrolled in this study, and their clinical, epidemiological and immunovirological features were analyzed. Out of the 19 suspected cases, 18 were considered as ATL associated with HTLV-I (8 acute forms, 8 lymphoma types and 2 smoldering cases). Before this study, only 2 ATL cases had been reported in French Guiana over a 10-year period. This demonstrates that the number of ATL cases is greatly under-estimated in most tropical HTLV-I endemic areas unless a specific disease search is performed. The mean age of the patients was 41 years. While HTLV-I antibodies were present in all cases, molecular studies demonstrated a clonal integration of HTLV-I in the tumoral cells in 7 cases out of the 9 tested. Fifteen patients died within a year of diagnosis. The crude incidence rate of ATL in French Guiana is around 3.5/100,000/year, a situation similar to that found in the Caribbean and in HTLV-I-endemic regions of Japan. However it reaches around 30/100,000/year (highest incidence ever described) in a small remote ethnic group of African origin (around 6200 inhabitants). Possible causes of ATL clustering in this ethnic group are presented.

Religious orthodoxy and myocardial infarction in Jerusalem — a case control study

We examined the hypothesis that the degree of religious orthodoxy is an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease incidence in a study of 454 men and 85 women who experienced a first myocardial infarction. They were compared with a control group of 295 men and 391 women. All were Jewish residents of Jerusalem. The degree of religious orthodoxy was ascertained by interview of participants. Among the cases, 51% of the men and 50% of the women defined themselves as secular compared with 21% and 16%, respectively, among the controls. In a multivariate logistic model (including terms for age, ethnicity, education, smoking, physical exercise, body mass index and religious orthodoxy), the coefficients for age and smoking were positive and statistically significant, and those for education negative and significant. The risk for European born subjects was greater than for the other ethnic origin groups (statistically significant only in men). Secular subjects had a significantly higher risk of myocardial infarction compared to orthodox subject (odds ratio of 4.2 (95% confidence interval 2.6–6.6) for men and 7.3 (95% confidence interval 2.3–23.0) for women). This relationship was independent of the other variables in the model. The relation persisted in a subsample of cases who were examined 2–3 months after the acute phase of the infarction upon controlling for plasma cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol and hypertension. This finding should be substantiated. It would appear important to identify the components of religiosity associated with reduced risk.

Familial aggregation of blood pressure in a Jewish population sample in Jerusalem among ethnic and religious groupings.

Abstract Parent‐child and spouse correlations were studied in a sample of 935 Jerusalem Jewish families consisting of 935 children aged 17–18 years and their parents. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were adjusted by regression for sex, age, weight, height, and seasonality. Mother‐child correlations for SBP (0.16) and DBP (0.15) were higher than those of father‐child (SBP = 0.13; DBP = 0.09). Mid parent‐child correlations were 0.20 for SBP and 0.14 for DBP. All parent‐child correlations were statistically significant. A test for heterogeneity of parent‐child correlations among the four ethnic origin groups (Europe/ America; Asia; North Africa; Israel), was not significant. Parent‐child correlations for SBP and DBP were highest in the European and Asian groups, lowest in the North Africans, and intermediate in the Israeli group. Spouse correlations both for SBP and DBP were statistically not different from zero. There was no significant ethnic heterogeneity. Familial aggrega...

Birth weight in Israel, 1968-70. I. Effects of birth order and maternal origin.

SummaryAn analysis of 96% of Israeli live births, 1968–70, gives a mean birth weight of 3299 ± 543 g with 5·7% weighing less than 2500 g. The mean values increased from 3193 ± 510 g for first born to 3469 ± 604 g for tenth and subsequent births.There were significant differences between the mean birth weights, adjusted for birth order, of the different ethnic-origin groups. Infants of Jewish immigrants from North African countries weighed 3356 g followed by Christian Arabs (3337 g), Israeli-born Jews (3310 g), immigrants from Western countries (3303 g), Moslem Arabs (3251 g), Druze (3244 g) and immigrants from countries of Asia (3223 g).For the Jewish groups, the differences were diminished in the second generation of Israeli-born but those descended from Asian immigrants continued to be the lighter group.In order to determine the extent to which these differences are truly ‘ethnic’ further analyses of more homogeneous groups will be necessary taking into account a number of other demographic and socio-economic variables. (Summary in Hebrew, p. 58.)