Ethnic Groups Research Articles

What’s ethnicity got to do with it? Religious and racial politics in Europe

ABSTRACT Drawing on sociology, anthropology, constitutional law, and political philosophy, this issue explores how the concept of ethnicity functions as a salient category for understanding the experiences of minorities in Europe today. It considers ethnicity as a powerful means of self-identification and the assertion of differences between as well as within ethnic groups. This issue engages the tension between group-based stigmatization on the one hand, and the reality of increasingly fragmented forms of identification under the influences of de-institutionalization and individualization. It also hones in on the ethnicization and racialization of nationhood under the influence of right-wing identity politics, and the exploitation of ethnic differences for political and electoral purposes. In its engagement with socio-legal studies, this issue considers a number of strategies for alleviating the pressure on ethnic minorities, for example through the use of private sector duties as well as potential innovations of anti-discrimination infrastructures.

On territorial border markers of the settlement of Russians of the Middle Tom River region in the beginning of the 18th — mid 20th centuries

The concept of studying of ethnographic and archaeological complexes (EAC) involves the analysis of their individual components: population, villages, communication routes and others, including borders — both external and internal. The analysis of archaeological, historical, and ethnographic literature has shown that borders or borderlands can be traced in almost all populations at any stage of their development. However, while the borders between large associations, like states or ethnic groups with different cultures, have been addressed by experts, almost no attention is being given to local boundaries between smaller collectives, although there are written, cartographic and oral sources that can be used as a basis for such research. After considering the materials of various origins concerning the native villages of the Middle Tom region, it became possible to discuss the bounda-ries between them, and the boundaries of the administrative entities which encompassed them in the 18th century. At this time, residents of villages located 15–30 km north of the Kuznetsk fortress were moving to new unoccupied lands in the upper reaches of the river Inia and its upper tributaries, as well as to the left bank of Tom below the mouth of the Mungat River. According to the drawings of S.U. Remezov, there was a boundary between the Tomsk and Kuznetsk districts. The borderline rivers could be Unga-Promyshlennaya in the north and Osipovo-Mungat in the south. Possibly, there were small settlements of Tulbers. After the middle of the 19th century, an-other process of settlement of the Tom riverbank territories of its both sides began. By the 1930s, all its banks were inhabited, and the reserve of free lands came to end. Indigenous people began developing islands on the river or starting settlements within 15–20 km from the village. In the second third of the 20th century, new villages were developing in the remote territories away from Tom. Almost all of them were abandoned in the second half of the 20th century. The available information suggests that there were borderlands between the villages within single districts. Most often these were represented by watercourses — small rivers and streams, ridges — elon-gated hills located perpendicular to terraces, and sometimes lakes. These borders were well known to locals. It cannot be ruled out that river rapids and shoals could also have been used as borders. The analysis of the corre-lation of locations of the villages, river rifts and stretches suggests that, in the studied area of Tom, villages were located on the river stretches between the shoals. There is also information about the existence of boundaries between minor objects, though they require further research.

ОСОБЕННОСТИ НУТРИТИВНОГО СТАТУСА ДЕТЕЙ С МУКОВИСЦИДОЗОМ РАЗЛИЧНЫХ ЭТНИЧЕСКИХ ГРУПП СЕВЕРНОГО КАВКАЗА

Adequate nutritional status in a patient with cystic fibrosis (CF) positively correlates with the normal function of the bronchopulmonary system. Many domestic and foreign studies have been conducted so far to assess the nutritional status of children and adults with CF. However, there is no data as yet on the phenotypic characteristics of children from different ethnic groups of the North Caucasus depending on their genotype. The purpose of this research was to study the peculiarities of nutritional status in children with CF of the following Russia’s North Caucasus ethnic groups: Chechen, Karachay-Circassian, Dagestani, Ingush and Ossetian-Alanian. Materials and methods used: a single-center open prospective study of 117 children with CF aged 2 months to 17 years old (Me 6 y/o) of various North Caucasus ethnic groups was conducted. All patients have undergone molecular diagnosis and assessment of both nutritional status and exocrine pancreatic function. Results: 50.4% of pediatric patients with CF in the Russia’s North Caucasus have had pathological mutations in c.1545_1546delTA, p.(Tyr515*) and c.3846G>A, p.(Trp1282*) in homozygous state. These mutations were most often found in the Ingush (100%) and Chechen (82%) ethnic groups and somewhat less frequently in the Dagestani (57.1%) and Karachay-Circassian (54%) ethnic groups. In the Chechen and Ossetian-Alanian ethnic groups, when these mutations were detected, severe pancreatic insufficiency was established in 40.5% and 100% of cases, respectively. Pseudo-Bartter syndrome was diagnosed in 60% of cases with this genetic variant in a homozygous or compound heterozygous states during the patients’ first years of life. Indicators for the nutritional status of children with CF from different ethnic groups were significantly lower compared to those recorded officially in the 2021 Russian National Register of Patients with CF. Conclusion: it is necessary to study the course of CF and the state of nutritional status separately in each population and its connection with the identified genetic characteristics of the Russia’s North Caucasus ethnic groups. The genotype and phenotype patterns for these patients were the reason for the development of disorders of the exocrine function of the pancreas and pseudo-Bartter syndrome at an early age, which in its turn could lead to further development of nutritional deficiency.

Analysis of Pediatric Clinical Practice Guideline Authors by Gender, Race, and Ethnicity.

Background and Objectives: Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) have significantly influenced medical practice worldwide. Nevertheless, the authorship of CPGs produced by several medical societies has not been representative of the field and population they address, as women and individuals from racial and ethnic minority groups have been underrepresented as authors. We hypothesized that women and individuals from minoritized racial and ethnic groups would also be underrepresented as authors of CPGs produced by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the gender, race, and ethnic composition of authors and subcommittee participants of AAP-produced CPGs published from January 2010 through May 2023 were analyzed and compared to the 2010 and 2021 U.S. population and 2010 and 2022 U.S. medical school pediatric faculty. Results: Women (39.7%, 127/320 of all positions, and 42.5%, 85/200 of named author positions) and women physicians (35.2%, 101/287 of all positions, and 36.4%, 64/176 of named author positions) were significantly underrepresented-while men and men physicians were significantly overrepresented-from their respective composition in the U.S. Census and pediatric faculty. Women and women physicians from all racial and ethnic groups and men and men physicians from minority racial and ethnic groups were significantly underrepresented-from their respective composition in the U.S. Census and pediatric faculty. No Black man was identified as an author. Conclusions: Medical societies that produce CPGs should be cognizant of these inequities and ensure appropriate authorship diversity.

Diversity of Uses and Local Knowledge Associated with Wild African Plum Trees, Dacryodes edulis, Among Different Ethnic Groups in the Congo Basin

Diversity of Uses and Local Knowledge Associated with Wild African Plum Trees, Dacryodes edulis, Among Different Ethnic Groups in the Congo Basin

Clinical Analysis of Y Chromosome Microdeletions and Chromosomal Aberrations in 1596 Male Infertility Patients of the Zhuang Ethnic Group in Guangxi.

The long arm of the Y chromosome (Yq) contains many amplified and palindromic sequences that are prone to self-reorganization during spermatogenesis, and tiny submicroscopic segmental deletions in the proximal Yq are called Y chromosome microdeletions (YCM). A retrospective study was conducted on male infertility patients of Zhuang ethnicity who presented at Reproductive Medical Center of Nanningbetween January 2015 and May 2023. Seminal fluid was collected for standard examination. YCM were detected by using a combination of multiplex PCR and agarose gel electrophoresis. Preparation of peripheral blood chromosomes and karyotyping of chromosomes was performed. 147 cases (9.22%) of YCM were detected in 1596 maleinfertility patients of Zhuang ethnicity. Significant difference was found in the detection rate of YCM between the azoospermia group and the oligospermia group (P < 0.001). Of all types of YCM, the highest detection rate was AZFc (n = 83), followed by AZFb + c (n = 28). 264 cases (16.54%) of sex chromosomal aberrations were detected. The most prevalent karyotype was 47, XXY (n = 202). The detection rate of sex chromosomal aberrations in azoospermia group was higher than that in severe oligospermia group and oligospermia group, and the differences were significant (P < 0.001). 28 cases (1.57%) of autosomal aberrations and 105 cases (6.58%) of chromosomal polymorphism were identified. The current research has some limitations due to the lack of normal men as the control group but suggests that YCM and chromosomal aberrations represent key genetic factors influencing spermatogenesis in infertile males of Zhuang ethnicity in Guangxi.

Sleep Problems and Health Outcomes Among Urban American Indian and Alaska Native Adolescents.

Adolescent sleep problems are prevalent, particularly among racial and ethnic minority groups, and can increase morbidity. Despite the numerous strengths of their racial and ethnic group, urban American Indian and Alaska Native adolescents face significant health disparities but are rarely included in health research. Understanding how sleep problems are associated with health outcomes among American Indian and Alaska Native adolescents may elucidate novel targets for interventions to promote health equity. To assess whether baseline sleep problems are associated with changes in behavioral and cardiometabolic health outcomes among urban American Indian and Alaska Native adolescents 2 years later. American Indian and Alaska Native adolescents were recruited via flyers and community events for an observational cohort study in California. Baseline assessments were conducted among 142 adolescents from March 1, 2018, to March 31, 2020, and follow-ups were conducted among 114 adolescents from December 1, 2020, to June 30, 2022. Baseline actigraphy-assessed sleep duration and efficiency and self-reported sleep disturbances and social jet lag (absolute value of the difference in sleep midpoint on weekends vs weekdays; indicator of circadian misalignment). Main outcome measures included self-reported depression (measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire), anxiety (measured using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale), past year alcohol and cannabis use, body mass index, systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), waist circumference, and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c). Analyses examined whether baseline sleep was associated with health outcomes at follow-up, controlling for age, sex, and baseline outcome measures. The baseline sample included 142 urban American Indian and Alaska Native adolescents (mean [SD] age, 14.0 [1.4] years; 84 girls [59%]), 80% of whom (n = 114; mean [SD] age, 14.1 [1.3] years; 71 girls [62%]) completed follow-ups. Linear or logistic regressions showed significant negative associations between shorter sleep duration and depression (β = -1.21 [95% CI, -2.19 to -0.24]), anxiety (β = -0.89 [95% CI, -1.76 to -0.03]), DBP (β = -2.03 [95% CI, -3.79 to -0.28]), and HbA1c level (β = -0.15 [95% CI, -0.26 to -0.04]) and likelihood of alcohol (odds ratio [OR], 0.57 [95% CI, 0.36-0.91]) and cannabis use (full week: OR, 0.59 [95% CI, 0.35-0.99]) at follow-up. Greater social jet lag was associated with significantly higher SBP (β = 0.06 [95% CI, 0.01-0.11]) at follow-up. This cohort study found significant associations between poor sleep and adverse changes in health outcomes. Findings highlight the importance of developing culturally responsive interventions that target sleep as a key modifiable risk factor to improve the health of American Indian and Alaska Native adolescents.

Associations between neighbourhood deprivation, ethnicity and maternal health outcomes in England: a nationwide cohort study using routinely collected healthcare data

BackgroundIn the United Kingdom, pregnant women who live in the most deprived areas have two times the risk of dying than those who live in the least deprived areas. There...

Sex, racial, and ethnic disparities in motor neuron disease: clinical trial enrolment

Objective Motor neuron disease (MND) is a group of neurological diseases, the majority being amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), with varying clinical presentations across demographics. Clinical trial enrollment reflecting global disease burden improves understanding of diverse presentations and aids personalized therapy development. We assessed the sex, racial, and ethnic composition of MND/ALS clinical trial participants relative to global disease burdens. Methods We searched ‘motor neuron disease OR amyotrophic lateral sclerosis’ on ClinicalTrials.gov from 02/2000–04/2024. We extracted trial (start year, study site, sponsor location, phase, masking, intervention) and demographic data (sex, race, ethnicity) from randomized interventional studies. We obtained sex-based MND/ALS disease burden estimates from the Global Burden of Disease database. For females, we calculated pooled participation-to-prevalence ratio (PPR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), with PPR of 0.8–1.2 indicating adequate enrollment. We used Kruskal–Wallis tests to compare demographic groups across trial characteristics. Results Of 85 trials, females comprised 37.47% (n = 5011) of 13,372 participants; the pooled female PPR was 0.97 (95% CI: 0.77–1.16). Of 41 trials (9340 participants) reporting race, 121 (1.30%) participants were Black or African American, 16 (0.17%) American Indian or Alaskan Native, and 6 (0.06%) Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. 24 trials (595 participants) reported ethnicity, with a minority of Hispanic participants (n = 153; 2.57%). Conclusions MND/ALS clinical trials had adequate female enrollment relative to global disease burdens. Race and ethnicity data were underreported. However, there were enrollment disparities of racial and ethnic groups. Increased trial leadership diversity, equitable enrollment policies, and addressing barriers to participation could improve enrollment diversity.

Ethnic Minority Inclusion in Well-Being Research: Beyond Widening Participation

AbstractThis commentary paper welcomes calls for widening participation amongst ethnic minorities in research that aims to understand well-being. However, we demonstrate how a history of exclusion in the daily routines of communities render such calls limited in their ability to address inclusion fully. The absence of ethnic minorities from spaces and dialogues that define what constitutes good well-being is highlighted. We use life-courses that align with Western norms as an example to develop our arguments. Overall, exclusion is rooted in colonial histories and the discrimination experienced by ethnic minorities during day-to-day, routine living. Additionally, relational ontologies of well-being are overwhelmed by individualised constructs. We outline how the suppression of marginalised values in everyday spaces and activities has limited meaning-making in relation to well-being amongst ethnic minority individuals and groups. We characterise this marginalisation as an epistemic injustice in defining well-being. In our conclusions, we call for dialogues and developments in critical race theory (CRT) to be considered in research commissioning processes. Spaces and dialogues that are owned and shaped by ethnic minorities should be supported before we can widen participation in well-being research meaningfully. Values that are practised and developed in such spaces can then contribute to how communities define well-being and the appropriate ways in which it can be studied. It should be acknowledged that we use the term ethnic minority throughout this paper for brevity. The diverse experiences and perspectives that this term covers should be engaged with when considering the recommendations that we make.

Getting the most out of remote care: Co-developing a Toolkit to improve the delivery of remote kidney care appointments for underserved groups.

Telephone and video appointments are still common post-pandemic, with an estimated 25%-50% of kidney appointments in the United Kingdom still conducted remotely. This is important as remote consultations may exacerbate pre-existing inequalities in those from underserved groups. Those from underserved groups are often not represented in health research and include those with learning disability, mental health needs, hearing/sight problems, young/older people, those from ethnic minority groups. The aim was to develop a Toolkit to improve the quality of remote kidney care appointments for people from different underserved groups. A parallel mixed methods approach with semistructured interviews/focus groups and survey. We also conducted workshops to develop and validate the Toolkit. Seventy-five renal staff members completed the survey and 21patients participated in the interviews and focus groups. Patients (n = 11) and staff (n = 10) took part in the Toolkit development workshop, and patients (n = 13) took part in the Toolkit validation workshop. Four themes from interviews/focus groups suggested areas in which remote appointments could be improved. Themes were quality of appointment, patient empowerment, patient-practitioner relationship and unique needs for underserved groups. Staff reported difficulty building rapport, confidentiality issues, confidence about diagnosis/advice given, technical difficulties and shared decision making. This study is the first to explore experiences of remote appointments among both staff and those from underserved groups living with kidney disease in the United Kingdom. Whileremote appointments can be beneficial, our findings indicate that remote consultations need optimisation to meet the needs of patients. The project findings informed the development of a Toolkit which will be widely promoted and accessible in the United Kingdom during 2024.

Cross-border healthcare-seeking and utilization behaviours among ethnic minorities: exploring the nexus of the perceived better option and public health concerns

BackgroundMany ethnic minorities in Hong Kong seek medical tourism after encountering inequalities in access to local healthcare because of language barriers and cultural-religious differences. The present study explored the ethnic minorities’ lived experiences of medical tourism and issues arising from cross-border health-seeking relevant to this specific population.MethodsQualitative in-depth interviews with 25 ethnic minority informants from five South Asian countries in 2019.ResultsThe 19 informants out of the 25 have sought assistance from their international networks for home remedies, medical advice and treatments of traditional/Western medicines, for they are more costly or unavailable in Hong Kong and for issues related to racial discrimination, language barriers, transnationalism engagement, cultural insensitivity, and dissatisfaction with healthcare services in Hong Kong.DiscussionMedical tourism can relieve the host country’s caring responsibilities from healthcare services, so the government might no longer be hard-pressed to fix the failing healthcare system. Consequently, it could cause public health concerns, such as having patients bear the risks of exposure to new pathogens, the extra cost from postoperative complications, gaps in medical documentation and continuum of care, etc. It also triggers global inequities in health care, exacerbating unequal distribution of resources among the affordable and non-affordable groups.ConclusionEthnic minorities in Hong Kong sought cross-border healthcare because of structural and cultural-religious issues. The surge of medical tourism from rich and developed countries to poor and developing countries may infringe upon the rights of residents in destination countries. To mitigate such negative impacts, policymakers of host countries should improve hospital infrastructure, as well as train and recruit more culturally sensitive healthcare workers to promote universal health coverage. Healthcare professionals should also strive to enhance their cultural competence to foster effective intercultural communication for ethnic minority groups.

The estimated 10-year risk of first-onset cardiovascular disease in Swedish-born and non-Swedish-born primary healthcare patients

BackgroundSCORE2 has been introduced as an updated risk assessment tool for calculating the 10-year risk of first-onset cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, it does not account for ethnicity or socioeconomic status, known to affect CVD risk. This study investigated and compared SCORE2 estimates in Swedish-born and non-Swedish-born primary healthcare patients. The second aim was to examine if several risk factors could explain differences in CVD risk between the groups.MethodsThis was an observational, cross-sectional study. Data were obtained from the 4D Diabetes Project study, providing a total of 444 participants aged between 40 and 69 years. All participants had complete risk variable data necessary for the SCORE2 tool and no history of previous CVD. Descriptive analysis was conducted to compare distributions of risk factors between Swedes and immigrants and odds ratios of risk factors amongst these two groups in correlation to elevated CVD risk were calculated using logistic regression.ResultsSwedish-born patients showed a significantly higher risk of elevated CVD risk estimates (≥ 2.5% CVD risk increase for individuals < 50 years, respectively, ≥ 5% for individuals aged 51–69) than the non-Swedish-born population, even after adjustment for educational level (OR = 1.61, 95% CI 1.08–2.39). Weekly alcohol consumption implicated a risk of being classified as high risk of CVD risk, regardless of country of birth (OR = 1.93 CI 1.25-3.00). However, Swedes accounted for most of the alcohol consumption (62.6% vs. 19.6%). No other explanatory variable showed significance in association with elevated CVD risk.ConclusionsSwedish-born patients were found to be at higher risk of an increased 10-year CVD risk. The association of alcohol consumption with elevated CVD risk needs to be further studied in longitudinal studies in representative populations, notably among Sweden’s diverse ethnic groups.

‘I became an Uzbek’: Jewish-Uzbek encounters in World War Two evacuation

ABSTRACT Examinations of WWII-era Jewish evacuation to Central Asia traditionally focus either on the elite or the common people, subsequently concluding that the locale either fostered interethnic harmony (usually among the intelligentsia) or bred antisemitism (usually among the common people). In this article, however, I argue that both social strata witnessed and participated in these phenomena, using the lens of Uzbek-Jewish relations to evaluate the reality of interethnic encounters in evacuation. Indeed, Ashkenazi Jewish evacuees’ oral history testimonies demonstrate their multifaceted interactions with Uzbeks, in addition to their acquisition of substantial knowledge about their new neighbours, sometimes used to mitigate instances of popular antisemitism. Similarly, periodicals and archival sources’ coverage of the evacuated Ashkenazi Jewish intelligentsia shows not only high-level cultural cooperation and similar knowledge acquisition, but also its use of jointly produced cultural products to combat antisemitic stereotypes. As both antisemitism and interethnic cooperation featured in the first en masse encounter of these two largely unfamiliar ethnic groups, I suggest using it to test the on-the-ground success of the Soviet state’s ideology of the ‘friendship of the peoples’, which specifically prescribed interethnic friendship and the exchange of information about national culture.

Drinking patterns among US men and women: Racial and ethnic differences from adolescence to early midlife.

Drinking patterns among young adult men and women in the United States have been understudied, especially among racial and ethnic groups such as Asian Americans and Hispanics. Because alcohol-related racial and ethnic health disparities persist or increase in midlife, identifying peak ages of hazardous drinking could help to reduce disparities. We used the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health to examine: (1) past 12-month heavy episodic drinking (HED) and total alcohol volume consumption among non-Hispanic White (NHW), Black, Hispanic, and Asian men and women from ages 12 through 41, and (2) age-varying associations of race and ethnicity with drinking. Hispanic and Asian ethnic groups were disaggregated by historical drinking patterns. Time-varying effect models accounted for major demographic confounders. NHW men and women experienced elevated drinking rates in their early 20s, with a second elevation in their 30s. Black men and women did not have elevated drinking until their 30s. Among Hispanic men and women, peak drinking periods varied by gender and subgroup drinking pattern. Peak HED and total consumption emerged in the early 30s for Asian men, while peak HED occurred in the early 20s for Asian women. Drinking at certain ages for some racial and ethnic minoritized men and women did not differ from that in their NHW counterparts. Age periods during which subgroups in the U.S. population experience elevated alcohol consumption vary by ethnicity and gender. Recognition of these group differences could enhance our understanding of intervention timing.

Impact of comprehensive medication reviews on potentially inappropriate medication discontinuation in Medicare beneficiaries.

The use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) is associated with increased risk of hospitalizations and emergency room visits and varies by racial and ethnic subgroups. Medicare's nationwide medication therapy management (MTM) program requires that Part D plans offer an annual comprehensive medication review (CMR) to all beneficiaries who qualify, and provides a platform to reduce PIM use. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of CMR on PIM discontinuation in Medicare beneficiaries and whether this differed by race or ethnicity. Retrospective cohort study of community-dwelling Medicare Part D beneficiaries ≥66 years of age who were eligible for MTM from 2013 to 2019 based on 5% Medicare fee-for-service claims data linked to the 100% MTM data file. Among those using a PIM, MTM-eligible CMR recipients were matched to non-recipients via sequential stratification. The probability of PIM discontinuation was estimated using regression models that pooled yearly subcohorts accounting for within-beneficiary correlations. The most common PIMs that were discontinued after CMR were reported. We matched 24,368 CMR recipients to 24,368 CMR non-recipients during the observation period. Median age was 74-75, 35% were males, most were White beneficiaries (86%-87%), and the median number of PIMs was 1. In adjusted analyses, CMR receipt was positively associated with PIM discontinuation (adjusted relative risk [aRR]: 1.26, 95% CI: 1.20-1.32). There was no evidence of differential impact of CMR by race or ethnicity. The PIMs most commonly discontinued after CMR were glimepiride, zolpidem, digoxin, amitriptyline, and nitrofurantoin. Among Medicare beneficiaries who are using a PIM, CMR receipt was associated with PIM discontinuation, suggesting that greater CMR use could facilitate PIM reduction for all racial and ethnic groups.

Physical Activity, Cardiovascular Status, Mortality, and Prediabetes in Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Adults

Data are limited on the association of physical activity (PA) with incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality in prediabetes, especially in racial and ethnic minority groups, including Hispanic and Latino populations. To determine the association of PA with incident CVD and mortality by prediabetes status among Hispanic or Latino and non-Hispanic adults. This cohort study included data from 2 cohorts of adults with prediabetes or normoglycemia who were free of CVD at baseline visit: the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) from baseline examination through 2017, with median (IQR) follow-up of 7.8 (7.2-8.5) years, and the Framingham Heart Study (FHS) with non-Hispanic participants from index examination through 2019, with median (IQR) follow-up of 9.6 (8.1-10.7) years. Analyses were conducted between September 1, 2022, and January 10, 2024. The primary exposure was baseline accelerometry-measured moderate to vigorous PA, insufficient vs sufficient to meet 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (PAG) in both cohorts; additional accelerometer-measured exposures in HCHS/SOL were steps per day, sedentary behavior, and counts per min. The outcome was a composite of incident CVD or all-cause mortality, whichever came first. This cohort study included 13 223 participants: from HCHS/SOL, there were 9456 adults (all self-identified Hispanic or Latino ethnicity; survey-adjusted mean [SD] age, 38.3 [13.9] years, unweighted counts 5673 (60.0%) female; 4882 [51.6%] with normoglycemia; 4574 [48.4%] with prediabetes), and from FHS there were 3767 adults (3623 [96.2%] non-Hispanic and 140 [3.7%] Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, with 4 [0.1%] participants missing ethnicity; mean [SD] age, 54.2 [13.6] years; 2128 (56.5%) female; 2739 [72.7%] with normoglycemia; 1028 [27.3%] with prediabetes). Not meeting PAG was associated with higher risk of the composite outcome among participants with normoglycemia (vs PAG met; hazard ratio [HR], 1.85 [95% CI, 1.12-3.06]), but not among participants with prediabetes (HR, 1.07 [95% CI, 0.72-1.58]). For HCHS/SOL, no statistically significant association was found between the composite outcome and other PA metrics, although estimated HRs tended to be higher for lower activity in the normoglycemia group but not for the prediabetes group (eg, for steps less than vs at least 7000 per day, the HR was 1.58 [95% CI, 0.85-2.93] for normoglycemia vs 1.08 [95% CI 0.67-1.74] for prediabetes). While there was also no association in HCHS/SOL between the composite outcome and sedentary behavior, results were similar in the prediabetes group (HR per 30 minutes per day of sedentary behavior, 1.05 [95% CI 0.99-1.12]) and in the normoglycemia group (HR, 1.07 [95% CI 0.98-1.16]). In this cohort study of US Hispanic or Latino and non-Hispanic adults, lower moderate to vigorous PA levels were associated with CVD or mortality among participants with normoglycemia but not participants with prediabetes. Adults with prediabetes may benefit from reducing sedentary behavior and improving multiple lifestyle factors beyond improving moderate to vigorous PA alone.

Has mortality in the United States returned to pre-pandemic levels? An analysis of provisional 2023 data.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which started in 2020, resulted in greater all-cause mortality in 2020 and in subsequent years. Whether all-cause mortality remains elevated in 2023 compared to pre-pandemic numbers is unknown. The United States (US) Center for Disease Control Wide-Ranging, Online Data for Epidemiologic Research database was used to compare mortality rates between 2019 and provisional data for 2022 and 2023. Age-adjusted mortality rates (AAMRs) for all-cause as well as top causes of mortality were collected. Mortality based on subgroups by sex, age, and ethnicity was also collected. All-cause AAMRs between 2018 and 2023 per 100,000 individuals were 723.6, 715.2, 835.4, 879.7, (provisionally) 798.8, and (provisionally) 738.3, respectively, with AAMRs in 2023 remaining above 2019 pre-pandemic levels. Similar trends were noted in subgroups based on sex, ethnicity, and most age groups. Mortality attributed directly to COVID-19 peaked in 2021 as the 3rd leading cause of death and dropped to the 10th leading cause in 2023. Provisional mortality rate trends for 2023 suggest that rates for diseases of the heart increased during the pandemic but appear to have returned to or dipped below pre-pandemic levels. Provisional 2023 all-cause mortality rates in the US have decreased from the 2021 peak associated with the COVID-19 pandemic but remain above the pre-pandemic baseline. Mortality from some conditions, including diseases of the heart, appears to have recovered from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Seventy years of study on ethnic paleography in China

This paper systematically presents the development process of studying ancient Chinese ethnic scripts over the past seven decades since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, including the establishment of related research institutions and academic disciplines. Firstly, it records the establishment of the Chinese Association for Ethnic Paleography, the emergence of ancient scripts of ethnic groups in China as an academic discipline, and the conduction of a comprehensive and in-depth study of ancient Chinese ethnic literature in history. Secondly, this paper outlines the establishment of the National Leading Group for Compilation and Publication Planning of Ancient Ethnic Books, the census of ancient books written in ethnic scripts, the specialized preservation and conservation of ancient ethnic books in Xizang and Xinjiang, the promotion of compiling and publishing ancient ethnic books, and how the promotion further drives the protection of and research on ancient books written in ethnic scripts. Thirdly, the paper lists many innovative outcomes in studying ancient ethnic books. Fourthly, the paper proposes to conduct further censuses and in-depth research in this area, establish a grading system for ancient ethnic books, and utilize the resource of ancient ethnic books written in ethnic scripts in a modern context to further promote the excellent cultural heritages of the Chinese nation and enhancing ethnic unity and national unity.

Lower-Stakes Legislative Collaborations, Ethnicity, and Gender

How do legislators decide with whom to collaborate? I argue that legislative collaborations are shaped by ethnicity and gender, with legislators from dominant ethnic groups and men legislators having more opportunities to collaborate than non-dominant legislators. These dynamics are likely present even when the nature of the collaboration is not particularly electorally salient. I test this hypothesis using newly collected data on question-asking from local legislators in Delhi. Dominant caste men legislators tend to dominate question-asking collaborations as expected, with men legislators consistently having more collaboration opportunities. The results suggest that legislative power dynamics are present even in lower-stakes interactions and may mean that simply encouraging additional legislator collaborations does not address underlying discriminatory patterns in how dominant legislators select their collaborators.