Grave Risk Research Articles

The Affair of 'State of Emergency' - Was 70 Years of European Convention on Human Rights Enough to Prepare Member States for COVID-19 Crisis?

Seventy years after the adoption of the European Convention on Human Rights (hereinafter: ECHR), its one of a kind, carefully built and long-nurtured system of protection of human rights was unexpectedly and ultimately challenged by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.In response to this still ongoing crisis, various Member states have acted in different ways. At least nine of them have formally notified derogations to the ECHR, which naturally inspired academics to open the debate whether that kind of reaction is justifiable.According to Article 15 of the ECHR, a famous ‘derogation clause’, Member states are allowed, in exceptional circumstances of war or other public emergency threatening the life of the nation, to derogate from their obligations under the ECHR to the extent strictly required by the exigencies of the situation. While it can be argued that the risks posed to public health by the new virus can amount to an exceptional situation which threatens the life of the nation and requires special measures that may run afoul of the ECHR, it is still questionable whether usual restrictions permitted by the ECHR in regard to e.g. right to liberty and security, right to respect for private and family life, freedom of assembly and association or freedom of movement, have really shown to be inadequate and insufficient. Even more so, considering the fact that states of emergency carry a grave risk of being abused, often for political purposes.This paper aims to analyse the legal nature, necessary conditions and the scope of Article 15 of the ECHR, from a general as well as COVID-19 pandemic point of view. Special attention will be paid to how Serbia is managing the crisis, especially since the state of emergency was declared even though there was another instrument at hand – statutory law adopted specifically for the purposes of natural disasters such as epidemic diseases.

Risk of autoimmune diseases in recurrent aphthous ulcer patients: A nationwide population study.

To estimate the risk of developing autoimmune disease in patients diagnosed having recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) through a nationwide population-based cohort study. This study included two group of patients who had three or more episodes with aphthae diagnosed from their physician (RAS group) and a similar matched group of patients without aphthae (control group). Both groups were collected within the period of 2005-2007 from the Korean National Health Insurances claims database. Non-RAS cohort was matched after frequency matching. The final enrolled subjects were observed during a follow-up period from 2008 to 2015 and those who received autoimmune diseases diagnoses during follow-up were identified. The hazard ratio (HR) for developing autoimmune diseases was estimated. A total of 4,637 patients with RAS and 4,637 controls were included. The risk of overall autoimmune diseases was significantly increased in the RAS group (adjusted HR [aHR)], 1.19). With regard to each disease entity, patients with RAS showed an increased risk of Behcet's disease (31.16), systemic lupus erythematous (SLE) (1.74), ankylosing spondylitis (AS) (1.47), gout (1.47), Hashimoto thyroiditis (1.42), Graves' disease (1.37), and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (1.19). RAS-like lesion may be an early sign of systemic autoimmune disease, as it was associated with an increased risk of Graves' disease, Hashimoto thyroiditis, SLE, AS, gout, RA, and Behcet's disease from real-world data.

Wilding liability in education: Introducing the concept of wide risk as counterpoint to narrow-risk-driven educative practice

Consideration of risk and liability in outdoor educative practice has normally been limited to the narrow risks, usually to physical health, of incidents that can cause a particular injury. In this view of risk management, the more readily controlled the circumstance, the less likelihood of risk and consequent liability. Thus, to reduce risk, learning in the natural world is often avoided because it occurs in far more complex and less controllable contexts than human-created ones. However, wider and more grave risks to physical, emotional and mental health that may accrue through a life that is lived in separation from the natural world are not often considered or evaluated. In part, this may be because these kinds of risks are less immediately evident, and liability for negative outcomes may be more difficult to measure. Thus, there is less incentive to consider them. However, delayed outcomes are still outcomes. To consider easily discerned narrow risk alone, while ignoring more complex and longer-term wide risk, is no excuse for avoiding the ethical responsibility that public education carries to provide both the safest and most fecund context for learning. This paper introduces the concept of wide risk as a counterpoint to the narrow risk calculations now performed, and argues that in incorporating an understanding of wide risk in educative practice, at least two results are likely. The first is that learning outdoors will frequently be discovered to be a less risky alternative, if a broad range of outcomes over time are considered. The second is that the value of embracing risk in all aspects of learning ought to become a part of the learning process, and part of what is taught in public schools.

Drought vulnerability of Marathwada region, India: A spatial analysis

Abstract The magnitude and frequency of severe and extreme drought events continue to grow, instigating a grave risk to human wellbeing. Marathwada region of India is one of the most chronically drought affected region of India. The sequential drought events between the years 2012 to 2016 acutely impacted the natural as well as socio-economic resources of the region. This study attempts to assess the drought vulnerability of Marathwada region at sub-district level. An integrated drought vulnerability index has been developed by blending biophysical and socio-economic indicators of drought vulnerability. The analysis revealed that sub-districts like Shirur-Anantpal, Deoni, Shirur Kasar, Dharur, Biloli, Paranda, Mukhed, Khuldabad, Patoda, Hadgaon, Palam, Badnapur and Kaij, emerged as the very highly vulnerable to drought, representing 14.43% of geographical area and 10.96% of population of Marathwada while the sub-districts lying under the category of high drought vulnerability represented 39.15% of geographical area and 34.69% of population.

Prevalence of metabolic syndrome among adults in sub-district hospital Akhnoor: a cross sectional study

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is an aggregation of conditions that together increase the risk of cardiovascular disease in individuals, which would not otherwise be recognized. World-wide, its prevalence has been documented as 11-41%. It has become a major public health challenge globally due to rapid urbanization, sedentary lifestyle, and surplus energy intake.Methods: The present hospital-based-study was aimed at finding the prevalence of MetS in people attending OPD of medicine in sub-district hospital Akhnoor, Jammu: from November 2019 to April 2020. Study subjects included both males and females between the age group of 20-60 years attending the medicine OPD. Among the 400 participants, 185 were females and 215 were males. Patients were diagnosed as MetS according to national cholesterol education program adult treatment panel-III (ATP) criteria.Results: About 41.25% of the participants were below 40 years and 58.75% of the participants were above 40 years of age. A very high prevalence of 68.75% MetS was reported among patients, hinting at the changing lifestyle of the people. People of older age and with general obesity are under increased MetS risk. Prevalence among males (67.44%) and females (70.27%) differed only slightly. But our present study tends to suggest an increased risk among females, which is quite significant. Conclusions: Various researchers have associated MetS with depression and chronic diseases, which shows that the population is under graver risk with increased prevalence among masses. The prevalence in >40 years age group is showing rapid and alarming increase. Lifestyle modifications are crucial to the management of MetS.

Freedom of movement, migration, and borders

COVID-19 policies in the European Union and the United States have severely restricted free movement, migration, and asylum rights, in particular putting into jeopardy the human rights of refugees. This article addresses these implications while indicating the particularities of anti-COVID-19 mobility measures on both sides of the Atlantic. The article will disclose that COVID-19 mobility measures represent extraordinary challenges to fundamental principles of both the European Union and the United States; free movement of persons without border controls is a central reason for the existence of the European Union, and protection of individuals fleeing persecution has been a core commitment of the United States since its founding. The human rights implications of all of these border closures are alarming, putting at grave risk vulnerable populations who are ostensibly protected by these domestic and international legal obligations.

Ritual, fusion, and conflict: The roots of agro-pastoral violence in rural Cameroon

Herder–farmer conflicts in West Africa have caused thousands of deaths in recent years. Many conflicts are triggered by localized events that rapidly spiral out of control. What leads specific interpersonal conflicts to scale up into intergroup violence? We propose that such conflicts are rooted in identity and ritual dynamics. We present evidence that participants in Mambila traditions of masquerade initiation in Cameroon report especially strong identity fusion, a visceral sense of oneness with the ingroup. Results showed that men strongly fused to their ethnic ingroup were especially willing to fight and die for it. Overall, our findings provide evidence that when ordinary conflicts develop between groups that differ sharply on ethnic and religious lines, there is grave risk that fused persons will escalate violence. Understanding these processes may inform future development of new strategies to prevent or ameliorate intergroup conflicts of this kind.

Risky Business: A Model of Sufficient Risk for Anticipatory Self-Defence

ABSTRACT Drawing on the historical insight of Emer de Vattel to build on the contemporary arguments of Michael Walzer and David Luban, this article develops a model of sufficient risk as a necessary condition for anticipatory war to be deemed self-defence. This model holds that an anticipatory war may constitute legitimate self-defence (as opposed to aggression) when it aims to forestall a threat that poses a sufficient risk to the anticipating state. This is the point where a threat is both sufficiently likely to materialise and sufficiently large to pose a grave risk. Due to crucial problems with the imminence condition for self-defence, I propose that the sufficient risk condition subsume that of imminence. The power of this model lies in its ability to encapsulate all factors raised by previous authors that are morally relevant specifically for anticipatory wars and categorise them as contributing to the judgement of the likelihood of the threat materialising and/or the magnitude of the potential threat. This parsimonious categorisation increases the accuracy and clarity of the moral theory on anticipatory war, making it more robust to change in the types of threats faced by states, and less ripe for manipulation to justify immoral wars.

Science-Driven Societal Transformation, Part II: Motivation and Strategy

Climate change, biodiversity loss, and other well-known social and environmental problems pose grave risks. Progress has been insufficient, and as a result, scientists, global policy experts, and the general public increasingly conclude that bold change is required. At least two kinds of bold change are conceivable: reform of existing societal systems (e.g., financial, economic, and governance systems), including their institutions, policies, and priorities; and transformation, understood here as the de novo development of and migration to new and improved systems. The latter has barely been explored in the scientific literature and is the focus of this concept paper. The main theses explored are that transformation is prudent, given risks, attractive, given potential benefits, and achievable, given political, social, and financial constraints. A body of literature is cited in support, but that body is necessarily small given the novelty of the topic. In particular, there are almost no papers in the scientific literature addressing the “how to?” of transformation, a central theme of this paper. Thus, this paper serves in part to raise topics and bring attention to possibilities and new directions.

History and Evolution of the North American Wildlife Conservation Model

The first section of this monograph describes the NAWCM and the difficulties it faces confronting circumstances very different from those that created it, namely the local overabundance of whitetail deer, wild hogs, and other wild game animals. It describes scientific wildlife management and argues that it constitutes the sole necessary cause of sustainable consumptive use of living natural resources. It concludes by showing that scientific wildlife management and markets for wild game meat can be compatible when commercial influences on wildlife managers are adequately checked. Section two reviews the history of wildlife management in North America, from American Indians through the development of the NAWCM in the late nineteenth century, and surveys the interplay between biology, ecology, markets, range, and population size of a dozen important types of wild animals. The key takeaway is that common pool problems and species-specific characteristics, like herding and flocking behaviors, endanger wild game populations far more than the scientifically-managed commercialization of their flesh does. The third section warns that the facile application of “democracy” to wildlife management poses grave risks for wildlife, especially wild game species, by threatening the authority of scientific wildlife management and further eroding the wildlife dollars volunteered by consumptive users. The fourth section suggests several ways that wildlife managers, short of reinstating markets for wild game meat, can increase the number of consumptive users and political support for the sustainable, consumptive use of wildlife. The most important suggestion is for the legalization of proxy hunting as a way, short of full-blown commercialization, of increasing wild game harvests where needed to meet local scientific wildlife management goals. The conclusion argues that by stressing the importance of scientific wildlife management over its other components, instead of making a fetish of prohibitions on wild game markets, the NAWCM can continue to protect North America’s wildlife throughout the twenty-first century.

Changing spatio‐temporal trends of heat wave and severe heat wave events over India: An emerging health hazard

AbstractHeat wave (HW) and severe heat wave (SHW) events are the manifestations of extreme temperature causing an array of impacts on health, ecosystem, and economy. Since the mid‐20th century, an increasing trend in the characteristics of heat waves has been observed over India causing an increased rate in human mortality. Our study aimed to analyse monthly, seasonal, and decadal variations along with long‐term trends of HW and SHW events for pre‐monsoon (March–May) and early summer monsoon (June–July) season during 1951–2016. HW and SHW events were identified using revised criteria given by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) using daily gridded maximum temperature data at 0.5° × 0.5° resolution from IMD. The study found a Spatio‐temporal shift in the occurrence of HW events with a significantly increasing trend in three prominent heat wave prone regions that is northwestern, central, and south‐central India, the highest being in West Madhya Pradesh (0.80 events/year), while a significantly decreasing trend was observed over an eastern region that is Gangetic West Bengal (−0.13events/year). SHW events showed a southward expansion and a spatial surge during the decades of 2001–2010 and 2010–2016. Tri‐decadal comparative assessment shows a decadal increase of around 12 HW and 5 SHW events post the 1980s. State‐wise Pearson's correlation between HW/SHW events and observed mortality reveals that the eastern coastal states that are Odisha and Andhra Pradesh show a significant positive correlation of 0.62 and 0.73, respectively. This significantly increasing trend in HW and SHW events may pose a grave risk to human health, predominantly on the vulnerable sections of the society. Heat waves need to be recognized as a potential health risk and demand further study, robust preparedness, and policy intervention.

China-U. S. A Trade Friction on Bilateral Trade

This study is typically descriptive in nature that has been analyses through different componential data of the Chinse and U.S.A economy about the bilateral trade issues. The objective of the paper is to analyze and find the friction areas of Chinese and USA trade and implications. U.S.A-China change friction is dampening the Chinese financial system, particularly through a decline in the call for. Over the medium to a long time, the alternate row should depress China's capability economic growth price via supply-aspect elements., the united states are strengthening regulations on acquisitions of U.S. excessive-tech companies by means of Chinese businesses. This, mixed with strengthened capital manage in China, has brought about a steep decline in Chinese direct investments inside America, from 46 billion bucks in 2016 to 29 billion dollars in 2017 and to 4.8 billion dollars in appearing time will make it more and more tough for China to acquire technology and others from the U.S.A. China and America have discovered bilateral treaties and multilateral regulations which includes the WTO guidelines, economic and trade family members have grown deeper and wider. comparative strengths and the picks of the market, the two international locations have constructed up a jointly useful courting proposing structural synergy and convergence of interests., a few stages of change friction are handiest herbal. the key, however, lies in a way to beautify mutual trust, promote cooperation, and manage variations. principle of resolving disputes thru talk and session, and answering U.S issues with the best stage of staying power and true religion. It has triumphed over many problems and made giant efforts to stabilize China-US economic and change family members via preserving rounds of discussions with the facet of the united states and providing sensible solutions. however, the USA aspect has been contradicting itself and constantly hard in China. As a result, change and economic friction among the two aspects has escalated quick over a short period of time, causing critical damage to the economic and alternate family members that have developed over time thru the collective work of the two governments and the two peoples, and posing a grave risk to the multilateral buying and selling system and the principle of unfastened trade and economics. Keywords: Trade, Implications, Friction. Bilateral DOI: 10.7176/IAGS/86-02 Publication date: September 30 th 2020

Childhood detention during COVID-19 in Italy: building momentum for a comprehensive child protection agenda.

Childhood detention represents an integral part of the public health response to the COVID-19 emergency. Prison conditions in Italy put detained minors at grave risk of contracting sudden acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. To date (29 April 2020), the Italian penitentiary system is housing 161 minors (147 males), most of them in pre-trial custody, as well as 50 children <3 y of age residing with their mothers in detention. Furthermore, the government reported 5265 unaccompanied minor migrants, mainly from Gambia and Egypt. The fundamental approach to be followed in childhood detention during COVID-19 is prevention of the introduction of infectious agents into detention facilities, limiting the spread within the prison and reducing the possibility of spread from the prison to the outside community. This appears challenging in countries like Italy with intense SARS-CoV-2 transmission. The current COVID-19 pandemic shows the need to provide a comprehensive childhood protection agenda, as the provision of healthcare for people in prisons and other places of detention is a state responsibility.

COVID-19 and Youth Impacted by Juvenile and Adult Criminal Justice Systems.

* Abbreviation: COVID-19 — : coronavirus disease Youth impacted by the US juvenile and adult criminal justice systems are an important, largely overlooked pediatric population at grave risk of devastating consequences from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Correctional facilities have high likelihood of COVID-19 outbreak, portending disproportionate risk and challenges to 3 groups of US children: (1) the 44 000 incarcerated youth,1 (2) the 2.7 million children whose parents are incarcerated,2 and (3) the hundreds of thousands of children whose parents work in correctional settings.3 As multiple correctional facilities become US epicenters for COVID-19, incarcerated youth and youth in contact with adults living or working in corrections have heightened medical risk of contracting COVID-19. Additionally, the susceptibility of jails, prisons, and detention centers to COVID-19 challenges the wellbeing of all children impacted directly or indirectly by the justice system. The COVID-19 correctional health crisis has advocacy and clinical implications for pediatric health professionals, including for providers in community ambulatory and hospitals settings, necessitating urgent action to protect a group of children already known to face significant vulnerabilities. Young people can experience significant COVID-19 morbidity and even fatality. In response, the pediatric community has galvanized and innovated to swiftly meet youth’s medical needs, such as through national advocacy efforts and by ramping up telehealth services. We must also remember youth impacted by the justice system. Although it can be easy to forget the plight of youth and adults in custody, especially during the COVID-19 global crisis, doing so will threaten the health of children and families across the … Address correspondence to Elizabeth S. Barnert, MD, MPH, MS, Department of Pediatrics, University of California, Los Angeles, 10833 Le Conte Ave, 12-467 MDCC, Los Angeles, CA 90095. E-mail: ebarnert{at}mednet.ucla.edu

Impacts of COVID-19 on childhood malnutrition and nutrition-related mortality

The unprecedented global social and economic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic poses grave risks to the nutritional status and survival of young children in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). Of particular concern is an expected increase in child malnutrition, including wasting, due to steep declines in household incomes, changes in the availability and affordability of nutritious foods, and interruptions to health, nutrition, and social protection services.1

A new index of globalisation: Measuring impacts of integration on economic growth and income inequality

AbstractThe debate over globalisation has intensified over the past decade. Recognition that globalisation comes with grave risks has garnered political support for regionalism as a strategy to build economic and financial resilience. This study is the first attempt to develop a new composite index of globalisation building on the separate contributions of intraregional and extraregional integration. The study also uses the new index to evaluate empirically the possible effects of globalisation on economic growth and income inequality. The index comprises 25 indicators that represent the key socioeconomic components of global integration. Principal component analysis is used to weight each component and construct an aggregate measure. The results show that although globalisation promotes economic growth, it may worsen income inequality. High‐income countries benefit most in that the positive effect of globalisation on economic growth is strongest among them than on other income groups, and they experience a less‐pronounced widening of income inequality. Between the two drivers of global economic integration, intraregional integration is far more important than extraregional integration. The analysis also shows extraregional integration turns out to be mainly responsible for the rise in income inequality that has accompanied globalisation.

Ethics of Facial Transplantation: The Effect of Psychological Trauma Associated With Facial Disfigurement on Risk Acceptance and Decision Making.

This study examines and contrasts the effect of risk disclosure on risk acceptance and perceived changes in quality of life (QoL) among individuals with and without facial disfigurement. Psychological distress has been previously shown to alter patients' perception of certain treatments. Due to the grave risks and complications of FT, it is important to understand whether the psychological trauma associated with facial disfigurement alters their perception of FT and its associated risks. Participants with and without facial disfigurement were recruited to complete a questionnaire about their perceived QoL, sense of identity, and willingness to proceed with FT in the context of 3 different hypothetical scenarios involving facial disfiguration. Four hundred nine nonfacially disfigured and 74 facially disfigured participants were included. When both healthy and facially disfigured individuals were presented with the risks and benefits of a FT, they both perceived their QoL to be as low, or significantly lower, than if they had severe facial disfigurement. Furthermore, presenting the risks of FT significantly altered the decision making and risk acceptance of healthy individuals with no facial disfigurement. However, risk disclosure did not affect the decision making among facially disfigured individuals. This study highlights that presenting the complication profile of FT decreases risk acceptance of FT in healthy individuals but has no significant effects on facially disfigured individuals. The psychological impact of facial disfigurement and its influence on accepting the significant risks of FT should be considered and warrants further investigation.

Assessment of Spectroscopic and Morphological Properties of some Fruit Crops under the Influence of Pollution with Heavy Metals Using Remote Sensing Techniques

Dietary exposure to a variety of heavy metals, including Ni, Cd, Cr, Pb, Zn, and Hg, has been identified as a danger to human health through fruits and vegetables, contamination of heavy metals is known as a grave risk to our climate. The study aims to develop empirical models to predict the concentration of heavy metals (Ni, Cd, Cr, Pb, Zn, and Hg) in the leaves of Citrus and Mango crops. The study was carried out in an observation site in Giza governorate that is cultivated by varied herbaceous and tree cover crops. This study area is suffering from severe pollution caused by near industrial district. The sample collected from deferent zones that are divided to six spatial zones and coded by from zone (2, 3, 4, 5, and 6). The distance between each Zone 10 Km that extends from the north to south and covers 60% from the Agriculture area in the Giza governorate. The main inputs of the generated models were spectroscopic remotely sensed data and laboratory analytical measurements of heavy metals in crop leaves. ASD (Analytical Spectral Devices) field spectro-radiometer was used to calculate hyper-spectral vegetation indices. Modeled heavy metal concentrations were tested against laboratory analysis through two common statistical tests; the Correlation of determination (R2) and Root Mean square (RMSE) error between predicted modeled heavy metals. Results shown the correlation coefficient of the generated models, red and near-infrared spectral bands demonstrated high precision and sufficiency for mango and citrus leaves to predict heavy metals. The models produced refer to specific regions with the same conditions. The overall results imply that hyper-spectral vegetation indices could be correlated with heavy metal content, while heavy metal content in plants may be influenced by many others. Remote sensing spectroscopy is a possible and promising technology to track the environmental pressures on agricultural vegetation. Additional ground remote sensing experiments are needed to assess the possibility of hyper-spectral reflectance spectroscopy in monitoring the stress of different types of metals on various plants.

Associations of Yersinia Enterocolitica Infection with Autoimmune Thyroid Diseases: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Yersinia enterocolitica infection is reportedly associated with the development of autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITD). However, evidence that such infection can lead to AITD is controversial. Thus, this study was aimed to investigate the associations of Y. enterocolitica infection with AITD. A meta-analysis was performed using PubMed, Web of Science, Embase and Cochrane library to identify relevant studies. The odds ratios (OR) and associated 95% confidence intervals [CI] were obtained. Data were analyzed by STATA 13.0 (Stata Corporation, College Station, TX, USA). Of 215 articles identified, 8 studies with a total of 1490 participants met the criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. There was a significant association between Y. enterocolitica positivity and AITD (OR: 4.31 [CI 95%: 1.81-10.07], P-value: 0.00). According to the subgroup analysis, Y. enterocolitica infection statistically increased the risk of Graves' disease (GD) (OR: 6.12, [CI 95%: 3.71-10.10], P-value: 0.00). Likewise, the pooled OR of association between Y. enterocolitica positivity and hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) was 2.84 (CI 95%: 0.71-11.25, P-value: 0.1). The current studies suggest that Y. enterocolitica may be associated with the development of AITD. Further study is needed to explore the underlying mechanisms.

The Association Between Foxp3 Polymorphisms and Risk of Graves' Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies.

Purpose: This systematic review and meta-analysis was carried out with the aim of investigating the relationship between Foxp3 polymorphisms (rs3761547, r3761548, and rs3761549) and the risk of Graves' disease (GD).Methods: Four online database including PubMed, EMBASE, ISI Web of Science, and CNKI were searched to identify observational studies that evaluated the association between Foxp3 polymorphisms and risk of GD. The strength of associations was indicated as odds ratio (OR) and corresponding 95% confidence interval (95%CI) under the allelic model. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to assess the methodological quality. Pre-specified subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis were performed using RevMan 5.3 software. Publication bias was detected by Egger's and Begg's tests.Results: Eight case control studies involving 3,104 GD patients and 3,599 healthy controls were included. The methodological quality of included studies was considered to be moderate to high. The results of our meta-analysis supported no association of rs3761547 and risk of GD in Asians (OR: 1.07, 95%CI 0.97, 1.19, P = 0.18). Evidence for rs3761547 and GD risk among Caucasians was still limited because only one study reported marginally increased risk of GD with the minor allele of rs3761547 (P = 0.04). The variant allele of both rs3761548 (OR: 1.31, 95%CI 1.04, 1.64; P = 0.02) and rs3761549 (OR: 1.30, 95%CI 1.03, 1.64; P = 0.03) was associated with increased risk of GD among Asians, but neither polymorphism turned out to be related with GD among Caucasians.Conclusion: Rs3761548 and rs3761549 polymorphisms in Foxp3 were associated with risk of GD among Asians, possibly due to suppressed function of regulatory T cells and augmented autoimmune response. Their genetic effect among Caucasians remained to be confirmed by future large-scale and well-designed studies.