non-European Origin Research Articles

The interest of the neighbourhood: Where municipal councillors live within the Brussels Capital Region

This article examines the extent to which certain types of neighbourhood are underrepresented or overrepresented in the Brussels municipal councils. It is found that as the prosperity of a neighbourhood increases, so does its representation. Neighbourhoods in difficulty therefore suffer from a double form of deprivation as not only do they accumulate a number of urban problems, but they are also underrepresented within municipal bodies. There are also significant differences between the political ideologies that can be linked to their position within the political spectrum. A comparison with the previous legislature indicates a stable picture. However, the increasing number of municipal councillors of non-European origin is leading to better representation of neighbourhoods that accumulate the most problems, even though they are still underrepresented. The same observations are made for the Brussels Parliament, albeit that the representation of prosperous neighbourhoods is even higher there.

Inter-comparison of four different carbon monoxide measurement techniques and evaluation of the long-term carbon monoxide time series of Jungfraujoch

Abstract. Despite the importance of carbon monoxide (CO) for the overall oxidative capacity of the atmosphere, there is still considerable uncertainty in ambient measurements of CO. To address this issue, an inter-comparison between four different measurement techniques was made over a period of two months at the high-alpine site Jungfraujoch (JFJ), Switzerland. The measurement techniques were Non-dispersive Infrared Absorption (NDIR), Vacuum UV Resonance Fluorescence (VURF), gas chromatographic separation with a mercuric oxide reduction detector (GC/HgO), and gas chromatographic separation followed by reduction on a nickel catalyst and analysis by a flame ionization detector (GC/FID). The agreement among all techniques was better than 2% for one-hourly averages, which confirmed the suitability of the NDIR method for CO measurements even at remote sites. The inter-comparison added to the validation of the 12-year record (1996–2007) of continuous CO measurements at JFJ. To date this is one of the longest time series of continuous CO measurements in the free troposphere over Central Europe. This data record was further investigated with a focus on trend analysis. A significant negative trend was observed at JFJ showing a decrease of 21.4±0.3% over the investigated period, or an average annual decrease of 1.78%/yr (2.65±0.04 ppb/yr). These results were compared with emission inventory data reported to the Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP) Convention. It could be shown that long range transport significantly influences the CO levels observed at JFJ, with air masses of non-European origin contributing at least one third of the observed mole fractions.

Family involvement in the treatment of childhood obesity: the Copenhagen approach

The objective of this study was to assess the impacts of a family-based childhood obesity treatment on anthropometry and predictors of dropout and successful weight loss. The 18-month treatment consisted of a intensive period (IP) including physical exercise, nutritional guidance, family psychotherapy, child group sessions and a 1-year follow-up (FU). One hundred children (10-12 years old, >140% of median weight-for-height) participated. The 81 children completing the IP decreased significantly from 2.9 to 2.6 body mass index (BMI) standard deviation score (SDS) units (p < 0.001). Furthermore, mean body fat percentage decreased significantly from 33.7 to 31.9 during IP. The 49 children completing the FU had a further decrease of 0.2 BMI SDS units (p = 0.003). Weight loss was less in children from immigrant families. Drop-out was higher if the mother had limited education and in immigrant families. This treatment with a psychological approach is feasible and results in significant weight loss during the programme. Future research should focus on how to improve the results of families with limited education and immigrants with non-European origin.

Language Background, Ethno-Racial Origin, and Academic Achievement of Students at a Canadian University

Research conducted in Canada and the United States shows that the age of arrival of immigrant children, language spoken in the home, and ethno-racial origin have consequences for English language acquisition and academic attainment. So far, however, the degree to which these factors have consequences for academic achievement at the post-secondary level has scarcely been studied. In this study, it is found that the communication skills of university students who are the sons and daughters of immigrants, independent of length of time in Canada, are not as high as those of native-born English-speaking Canadians. Moreover, all else being equal, independent of length of time in the country, the university GPAs of immigrant and non-European origin groups are generally lower than those of native-born Canadians. Findings such as these suggest the presence of social and cultural processes at the family, community, and educational system level that continue to disadvantage identifiable groups of post-secondary students.

Worldwide patterns of haplotype diversity at 9p21.3, a locus associated with type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease

A 100 kb region on 9p21.3 harbors two major disease susceptibility loci: one for type 2 diabetes (T2D) and one for coronary heart disease (CHD). The single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with these two diseases in Europeans reside on two adjacent haplotype blocks with independent effects on disease. To help delimit the regions that likely harbor the disease-causing variants in populations of non-European origin, we studied the haplotype diversity and allelic history of the 9p21.3 region using 938 unrelated individuals from 51 populations (Human Genome Diversity Panel). We used SNP data from Illumina's 650Y SNP arrays supplemented with five additional SNPs within the region of interest. Haplotype frequencies were analyzed with the EM algorithm implemented in PLINK. For the T2D locus, the TT risk haplotype of SNPs rs10811661 and rs10757283 was present at similar frequencies in all global populations, while a shared 6-SNP haplotype that carries the protective C allele of rs10811661 was found at a frequency of 2.9% in Africans and 41.3% in East Asians and was associated with low haplotype diversity. For the CHD locus, all populations shared a core risk haplotype spanning >17.5 kb, which shows dramatic increase in frequency between African (11.5%) and Middle Eastern (63.7%) populations. Interestingly, two SNPs (rs2891168 and rs10757278) tagging this CHD risk haplotype are most strongly associated with CHD disease status according to independent clinical fine-mapping studies. The large variation in linkage disequilibrium patterns identified between the populations demonstrates the importance of allelic background data when selecting SNPs for replication in global populations. Intriguingly, the protective allele for T2D and the risk allele for CHD show an increase in frequency in non-Africans compared to Africans, implying different population histories for these two adjacent disease loci.

Etienne Balibar: Algeria, Althusser, and Altereuropéenisation

Etienne Balibar joined the French Communist Party in 1961, during the Algerian War of Independence, and was expelled two decades later for his public denunciation of the party’s inability, evident since the time he had joined the party, to forge unity between the French and peoples of non-European origin with whom they lived. A student of Louis Althusser, Balibar has achieved international recognition as an innovative scholar of Marx and Spinoza. This essay examines another important thread in Balibar’s thought, his identification and contestation of the neo-racism at work in the democratic capitalist nation states of contemporary Europe. These states now cling to their role as nurturers of a “fictive [national] ethnicity,” a project with roots in their development as nation-states, at the very time that capitalist globalization is diminishing their powers. Balibar condemns the promotion of forms of “fictive ethnicity” in a new Europe and instead envisions Europe as an opportunity to address the marginalization and exclusion of populations descended from immigrants of non-European origin who live in contemporary Europe. Balibar proposes a new Europe, which could challenge American hegemony not in military terms, but by developing social institutions and cultures whose strength and appeal outside the West is not measured in firepower.

Immigrant Entrepreneurship, Institutional Discrimination, and Implications for Public Policy: A Case Study in Toronto

Immigration since World War 2 has been a primary engine of economic, social, and cultural change in Canada. Two of its important characteristics have been its ‘urban’ character and the non-European origins of immigrants since the 1960s. The Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) has been a major destination for those immigrants who have entered the self-employed sector of the economy in ever-larger numbers. The authors focus on the barriers and challenges experienced by the Polish, Portuguese, Caribbean, Korean, and Somali immigrants in the establishment and operation of their businesses in the Toronto CMA. With information collected through key-informant interviews, a questionnaire survey, and focus groups, it is found that, despite the Canadian commitment to multiculturalism at all levels of government, visible-minority entrepreneurs still confront more barriers in their business practice than do non-visible-minority entrepreneurs, with access to financing being a persistent problem. Given the increasingly multicultural nature of major Canadian cities and the acknowledged role of immigrants as an engine of economic growth, the authors identify barriers to entrepreneurship among immigrants as an area of clear concern both for policymakers and for scholars, and suggest solutions to address this concern.

HLA Class I and Class II Polymorphism in Three Sicilian Populations

Two human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I loci (HLA-A and HLA-B) and one class II locus (HLA-DR) were typed at the DNA level in the Sicilian population. Study participants were of Sicilian origin (183 for class I loci and 260 for class II loci) and live in three towns, chosen on the basis of geographic position and different historical events. These towns are Sciacca (southwest Sicily, located at sea level, conquered by Arabs in A.D. 814), Piana degli Albanesi (northwest Sicily, 720 m above sea level, has maintained religious, cultural, and linguistic peculiarities traced to Albanian settlement in 1488), and Troina (northeast Sicily, 1120 m above sea level, known as the first settlement of Normans). The assumptions underlying the study of genetic structure, based on HLA allele polymorphism, are that these three towns are located in areas that can be distinguished according to historical criteria and that they are likely to have contributed to cultural and probably genetic differences. As such, the high frequency of some alleles in Sciacca and Troina seems to be correlated with Greek, Phoenician, North African, and Arab influence. In accordance with different human settlements in Sicily, we found that the HLA allele frequencies support the existence of genetic differentiation between the western and eastern sides of Sicily. This separation is attributed to Greek colonization in the east and to Phoenician-Carthaginian-Arab influence in the west. Moreover, the comparisons of all allele frequencies between Mediterranean and AfrIcan populations show the same trend, highlighting in some cases European origin and in other cases non-European origin.

1.5 Generation Internal Migration in the U.S.: Dispersion from States of Immigration?

The issue of immigrant spatial concentration and the possibilities for immigrant dispersion through migration features in at least three interrelated debates about immigration. First, the ethnic enclave literature centers on the question of whether spatial concentration improves or harms the economic well-being of immigrants. Second, spatial assimilation theory links immigrant relocation away from residential enclaves to socioeconomic gains. Although framed at an intra-urban scale, we suggest that similar assimilation logics infuse thinking and expectations about immigrant settlement and spatial mobility at other scales. And third, immigrant clustering links to anxieties about the threats posed by non-European origin newcomers to the traditional cultural fabric of the nation. In the current wave of immigration, research on questions of settlement geography and spatial mobility has so far been restricted to the first generation. But as the current wave of immigration matures there is a growing population of adults who are the children of immigrants. This article investigates the migration behavior of these adult children, specifically the 1.5 generation, seeking to answer the question of whether they will remain in the states in which their parent's generation settled or move on. It also assesses whether the out-migration response of the 1.5 generation in states of immigrant concentration is similar to that of their parent's generation or the U.S.-born population.

Coping strategies in immigrant men and women with type 2 diabetes

The aim of this study was to assess coping strategies of foreign-born men and women with type 2 diabetes in relation to demographic (sex, age, time in Sweden), medical, and socio-economic situation, and as compared with Swedish-born patients. Participants were foreign-born type 2 diabetic patients of European and non-European origin in primary health care in Stockholm County, comprising 41 men and 36 women aged 35–64 years, compared with Swedish-born type 2 diabetes patients, 121 men and 111 women. The General Coping Questionnaire, which measures five main orientations, dichotomised into “positive” and “negative” factors, i.e. 10 coping strategies, was used in the assessment. Medical and socio-economic data were obtained from medical records and postal questionnaires. Foreign-born men showed an impact on 6 of 10 coping strategies, and foreign-born women on 2 of 10 coping strategies, as compared to Swedish-born subjects. Longer time since migration and higher educational level were associated with lower scores for stressful coping strategies, while having financial problems and receiving a disability pension were associated with higher scores. In conclusion, the most stressful coping strategies were found among foreign-born men. It seems to be essential to improve and adjust diabetes care for immigrants, also including the psycho-social perspective.

Mexican Immigrant Political and Economic Incorporation

As the United States begins the twenty-first century, it remains the world's leading immigration country. In 2000 (the latest year for which migration data are available on a global basis) the United States was home to almost 35 million legal and unauthorized migrants, or 2.7 times as many as any other country. Although other nations have higher proportions of foreign-born residents (e.g., nearly 25 percent in Australia and 20 percent in Canada), the globally dominant position of the United States in regard to numbers of new immigrants reinforces its self-image as a “nation of immigrants,” as does the fact that immigration is generally seen as contributing to the country's economic and demographic strength. However, over the past three decades, more and more new arrivals with non-European origins have come to the country (more than four-fifths are Latino and Asian), many with very low levels of education and illegal status at entry. These changes have fueled public concerns and led to heated debates over whether U.S. admissions and settlement-related policies ought to be modified.Frank D. Bean is Professor of Sociology (fbean@uci.edu), Susan K. Brown is Assistant Professor of Sociology (skbrown@uci.edu),and Ruben G. Rumbaut is Professor of Sociology at University of California, Irvine (rrumbaut@uci.edu). Some of the research results reported in this paper come from a research project entitled “Immigration and Intergenerational Mobility in Metropolitan Los Angeles” and supported by a grant from the Russell Sage Foundation.

Mental Health of Immigrants and Refugees

The United States is a country of immigrants. With the exception of Native-Americans, every other American is, or descends from, an immigrant. First and second generation immigrant children are the most rapidly growing segment of the American population, with the great majority of this population being of non-European origin. This paper reviews the unique risk factors and mental health needs of our new immigrant populations, as well as treatment and services approaches to address their unique needs.

Increased C282Y Heterozygosity in Gestational Diabetes

Background: Hereditary hemochromatosis is an autosomal recessive disorder of iron metabolism that is characterized by excess accumulation of iron in various organs and often leads to diabetes mellitus (DM). To study whether mutations in the hemochromatosis gene (HFE) could be a risk factor for the development of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), the prevalence of HFE mutations in patients with GDM was compared to that of healthy pregnant controls. Methods: GDM was diagnosed in 208 of 2,421 pregnant woman screened between the 24th and 28thweek of gestation over a period of 18 months. Patients and 170 matched control subjects were screened for the HFE gene mutations C282Y and H63D. Results: In North and Central European GDM patients, the allele frequency of the C282Y mutation (7.7%) was higher than in pregnant controls (2.9%; p = 0.04), while the frequency of the H63D mutation was not different (p = 0.45). Three patients with GDM were homozygous for H63D (3.1%), 1 patient was homozygous for C282Y (1.0%), 2 patients were compound heterozygous (2.0%) and 26 were heterozygous [11 C282Y (11.2%) and 15 H63D (15.3%)]. C282Y and H63D allele frequencies were not different between controls and GDM patients of Southern European or non-European origin. Irrespective of the HFE-mutation status, serum ferritin levels were increased in patients with GDM compared to healthy pregnant controls (p = 0.01), while transferrin saturation was similar in both groups. Conclusions: In North and Central European patients with GDM, the C282Y allele frequency is higher than in healthy pregnant women, suggesting a genetic susceptibility to the development of GDM.

Bone mineral density, body mass index and cigarette smoking among Iranian women: implications for prevention.

BackgroundWhile risk factors of osteoporosis in Western populations have been extensively documented, such a profile has not been well studied in Caucasians of non-European origin. This study was designed to estimate the modifiable distribution and determinants of bone mineral density (BMD) among Iranian women in Australia.MethodsNinety women aged 35 years and older completed a questionnaire on socio-demographic and lifestyle factors. BMD was measured at the lumbar spine (LS) and femoral neck (FN) using DXA (GE Lunar, WI, USA), and was expressed in g/cm2 as well as T-score.ResultsIn multiple regression analysis, advancing age, lower body mass index (BMI), and smoking were independently associated with LS and FN BMD, with the 3 factors collectively accounting for 30% and 38% variance of LS and FN BMD, respectively. LS and FN BMD in smokers was 8% lower than that in non-smokers. Further analysis of interaction between BMI and smoking revealed that the effect of smoking was only observed in the obese group (p = 0.029 for LSBMD and p = 0.007 for FNBMD), but not in the overweight and normal groups. Using T-scores from two bone sites the prevalence of osteoporosis (T-scores ≤ -2.5) was 3.8% and 26.3% in pre-and post-menopausal women, respectively. Among current smokers, the prevalence was higher (31.3%) than that among ex-smokers (28.6%) and non-smokers (7.5%).ConclusionThese data, for the first time, indicate that apart from advancing age and lower body mass index, cigarette smoking is an important modifiable determinant of bone mineral density in these Caucasians of non-European origin.

DNA Diagnosis of Single Gene Disorders in Patients of Non-European Origin: Experience from Kuwait

Objective: The aim of this study was to establish genetic DNA-diagnostic service in Kuwait. Methods: Polymerase chain reaction, restriction fragment length polymorphisms, heteroduplex analysis and DNA sequencing were applied. Results: Direct testing for common mutations had variable success in Kuwaiti patients with different genetic disorders, and additional mutation analysis was required in many cases. Genetic heterogeneity, mutations of Mediterranean, African and Arabic/Middle Eastern origin, and homozygosity by descent are characteristic of patients from Kuwait. Conclusions: More efforts aimed at the identification of mutations underlying genetic disorders in Kuwait as well as in other Gulf countries are warranted. This can be achieved by focusing genetic research in the academic institutions of Gulf countries towards this goal.

Increasing incidence of imported schistosomiasis in Mallorca, Spain

Schistosomiasis represents an important public health burden in developing countries. Worldwide, more than 200 million people are infected and approximately 85% of them are living in Africa [1, 2]. Anecdotal observations have suggested the incidence of imported schistosomiasis on the Spanish island of Mallorca has increased in recent years. In order to investigate this possibility, a retrospective study was conducted to determine the epidemiology of infection and the characteristics of patients diagnosed with schistosomiasis in Mallorca over a recent 8-year period. All cases of schistosomiasis diagnosed at the University Hospital Son Dureta, Palma de Mallorca between January 1995 and December 2002 were analyzed. This 878-bed hospital is the largest hospital in Mallorca and serves as the reference microbiology laboratory for the island. Schistosomiasis was diagnosed by microscopic detection of eggs in urine, stool, or semen specimens. Infected individuals were treated with praziquantel 40 mg/kg in a single or divided dose and were scheduled for a follow-up examination 2–6 months after treatment completion. For all patients with schistosomiasis, information pertaining to demographics, clinical characteristics, treatment regimen, laboratory results, and radiological findings was collected and stored in the patient records. This data was retrieved and analyzed in the present study. During the period evaluated, a total of 16 patients were diagnosed with imported schistosomiasis due to the following species: S. haematobium (n=11), S. mansoni (n=2), mixed infection with S. haematobium and S. mansoni (n=2), and an undetermined species thought to be either S. haematobium or S. intercalatum (n=1). Schistosoma eggs were also detected in specimens in which they are not typically present, i.e., S. haematobium in the stool of two patients and the semen of one patient and S. mansoni in the urine of two patients with mixed infection. Nine patients were found to be concomitantly infected with one or more of the following parasites: Blastocystis hominis, Giardia lamblia, Dientamoeba fragilis, Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, Sarcoptes scabiei, Plasmodium falciparum, and Plasmodium malariae. Mallorca is the largest of the Spanish Balearic Islands with a registered population of 730,778 inhabitants in 2002. In recent years, the number of immigrants has increased, with many arriving from non-European countries [3]. In 1996 a total of 23,410 immigrants was registered in Mallorca and 25% of them were of nonEuropean origin. By 2002, the number of immigrants had increased to 76,916 and 45% were from non-European countries. The majority of the non-European immigrants arrived from South America (n=18,239) and Africa (n=11,571), with many also arriving from Asia (n=2,323) and Central America (n=1,945). In most of these geographic areas schistosomiasis is endemic. As shown in Fig. 1, the incidence of schistosomiasis in Mallorca rose considerably during the period studied, as did the number of immigrants of non-European origin. The median age of infected individuals identified in our evaluation was 24 years (range, 6–48 years), and 94% were male. All of the schistosomiasis infections were acquired in Africa. Only one patient was a traveler, and this Spanish national had contracted schistosomiasis while visiting Mali. The remaining 15 patients were all African M. Rotger . T. Serra . M. G. de Cardenas . A. Morey Division of Clinical Microbiology, University Hospital Son Dureta, C/Andrea Doria 55, 07014 Palma de Mallorca, Spain

Visualisation of "Marx's line" along the marginal eyelid conjunctiva of human subjects with lissamine green dye.

To qualitatively assess the frequency and intensity of the staining of Marx's line with lissamine green dye. Eighty-five non-contact lens wearers, aged 18-78 years and of white (European) or Arabic origin, were assessed. The subjects had no major eye disease, although some had mild-to-moderate congestion of the main tarsal (Meibomian) glands and/or anterior blepharitis. Lissamine green dye strips were used to stain the marginal zone of the palpebral conjunctiva, and then high magnification photo slitlamp images were taken. A lissamine green staining line was unmistakable in 83 of the subjects, and just evident in the other two. The line extends along the entire length of the upper and lower lid margins, and the staining broadens and extends over the puncta. In most subjects, the lissamine green-stained line was posterior to the main tarsal gland orifices, but in five subjects it was distinctly anterior to the orifices. In over two-thirds of the subjects, the width of line was much less than the distance between the gland orifices, and was at a similar distance to its width from the orifices. However, in one-third of the subjects, the width of the line was around half that of the distance between the orifices or slightly greater (i.e. approximately 0.5 mm), and this feature was more commonly present in those of non-European origin. Lissamine green dye highlights a very distinct line of cells along the marginal zone, and should be a useful tool to visualise this feature. This line of cells is thought to be the natural site of contact between the eyelid margin and the surfaces of the bulbar conjunctiva and cornea.

Association of self-reported religiosity and mortality in industrial employees: the CORDIS study

This study examined the association between self-reported religiosity and mortality in industrial employees, while controlling for workplace and socioeconomic factors. Subjects were 3638 Jewish Israeli males who participated in a 12-year follow-up study. During this period 253 deaths were recorded. The prevalence of negative workplace and sociodemographic factors: lower education, non-European origin, heavy physical work, blue-collar jobs and adverse job and environmental conditions, was highest among religious employees, and lower in traditional and nonreligious employees in descending order. Using Cox's proportionate hazard model an age by religiosity interaction on mortality was uncovered. In younger employees (age <55 years) religiosity was associated with lower adjusted mortality, after controlling for negative workplace and sociodemographic factors. Compared with nonreligious employees, the hazard ratios for the religious and traditional employees were: 0.64 ( p=0.016) and 0.39 ( p=0.118), respectively. In older employees (age ⩾55 years), religiosity was associated with higher adjusted mortality. The corresponding hazards ratios were 1.69 ( p=0.011) and 1.08 ( p=0.004), even after controlling for the above possible confounding variables. It was concluded that religiosity had a protective effect on mortality in younger employees, but the reverse was true for older employees. This opposite trend could not be explained by negative sociodemographic and workplace conditions. The possibility of involvement of yet another potent factor of social isolation was discussed.

Expanding Ethnicity in Sixteenth-Century Anahuac: Ideologies of Ethnicity and Gender in the Nation-Building Process

It is common knowledge that ethnicity has played an important role in defining nations. This was certainly true during the sixteenth century when Spain and Portugal were expanding their empires and creating subclasses of people who were of non-European origin. Unfortunately, because the terms ethnicity and nation both evoke multiple meanings, it is difficult to understand the relationship between these two categories. Happily the twentieth century has fostered much research on the nation and the impact of ethnicity upon it. 1 Furthermore there has been much progress in the task of decolonizing what Adorno has called "historical literary scholarship" (Adorno, Guaman Poma 3). Others such as Pastor (3) have advanced techniques for "demythifying discourses." Since Gibson, a path has been created which has shown us how to treat native and mestizo 2 [End Page 419] sources with the same dignity and respect as was previously afforded to the Spanish chroniclers. 3 Recent theory on transculturation, heterogeneity, hybridization and multicultural awareness shed light on the process which occurs when men and women of different ethnicities come together. 4 This research can help us to understand more objectively the complex "shock" which occurred when Spain and Anahuac (the Aztecs) were violently thrown together to build a new society. In the pages that follow I will attempt a rereading of a number of sixteenth-century chronicles (plus one from the seventeenth). I will offer a step by step analysis of how the workings of mestizaje took place and how the roles of men and women differed in this process.

Diabetes and gender

It is often assumed that there is little or no sex bias within either Type I (insulin-dependent) or Type II (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus. This review considers evidence that sex effects of interest and importance are present in both forms of the disease. Type I diabetes is the only major organ-specific autoimmune disorder not to show a strong female bias. The overall sex ratio is roughly equal in children diagnosed under the age of 15 but while populations with the highest incidence all show male excess, the lowest risk populations studied, mostly of non-European origin, characteristically show a female bias. In contrast, male excess is a consistent finding in populations of European origin aged 15-40 years, with an approximate 3:2 male:female ratio. This ratio has remained constant in young adults over two or three generations in some populations. Further, fathers with Type I diabetes are more likely than affected mothers to transmit the condition to their offspring. Women of childbearing age are therefore less likely to develop Type I diabetes, and--should this occur--are less likely to transmit it to their offspring. Type II diabetes showed a pronounced female excess in the first half of the last century but is now equally prevalent among men and women in most populations, with some evidence of male preponderance in early middle age. Men seem more susceptible than women to the consequences of indolence and obesity, possibly due to differences in insulin sensitivity and regional fat deposition. Women are, however, more likely to transmit Type II diabetes to their offspring. Understanding these experiments of nature might suggest ways of influencing the early course of both forms of the disease.