White European Origin Research Articles

Ethnic Differences in the Prevalence of Myopia and Ocular Biometry in 10- and 11-Year-Old Children: The Child Heart and Health Study in England (CHASE)

Ethnic differences in childhood prevalence of myopia have not been well characterized in the United Kingdom. In this study, ethnic differences in refractive status and ocular biometry were examined in a multiethnic sample of British children. This was a cross-sectional study of 10- and 11-year-old school children of South Asian, black African Caribbean, and white European ethnic origin. Vision, open-field autorefraction (without cycloplegia), and ocular biometry were measured in each eye. Myopia was defined as spherical equivalent refraction of -0.50 D with unaided vision of 20/30 or worse (in one or both eyes). Ethnic differences in the prevalence of myopia were examined by using logistic regression, and multiple linear regression was used for ethnic differences in ocular biometry. All models were adjusted for age, sex, and clustering within school. Data were available for 1179 children. The prevalence of myopia was 25.2%, 10.0%, and 3.4%, respectively, in the South Asian, black African Caribbean, and white European children. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of myopia compared with the white European children were 8.9 (95% confidence interval [CI] 4.0 to 19.4) in the South Asian and 3.2 (95% CI, 1.4 to 7.2) in black African Caribbean children. Ethnic differences in the prevalence of myopia were largely accounted for by ethnic differences in axial length. The South Asian and black African Caribbean children had longer axial lengths (0.44 mm; 95% CI, 0.30 to 0.57 mm and 0.30 mm; 95% CI, 0.16 to 0.44 mm, respectively). Among British children exposed to the same schooling environment, the South Asians had the highest prevalence of myopia, followed by the black African Caribbeans compared with the white Europeans. A quarter of British South Asian children were myopic, which is strongly related to increased axial length.

Association of early‐onset pre‐eclampsia in first pregnancy with normotensive second pregnancy outcomes: a population‐based study

To evaluate pregnancy outcomes in normotensive second pregnancy following pre-eclampsia in first pregnancy. Population-based retrospective cohort study. State of Missouri in the USA. White European origin or African-American women who delivered their first two non-anomalous singleton pregnancies between 20 and 44 weeks of gestation in Missouri, USA, 1989-2005, without chronic hypertension, renal disease or diabetes mellitus (n = 12 835). Pre-eclampsia or delivery at 34 weeks of gestation or less in first pregnancy was defined as early-onset pre-eclampsia, whereas late-onset pre-eclampsia was defined as pre-eclampsia with delivery after 34 weeks of gestation. Multivariate regression models were fitted to estimate the crude and adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. Preterm delivery, large and small-for-gestational-age infant, Apgar scores at 5 minutes, fetal death, caesarean section, placental abruption. Women with early-onset pre-eclampsia in first pregnancy were more likely to be younger, African-American, recipients of Medicaid, unmarried and smokers. Despite a second normotensive pregnancy, women with early-onset pre-eclampsia in their first pregnancy had greater odds of a small-for-gestational-age infant, preterm birth, fetal death, caesarean section and placental abruption in the second pregnancy, relative to women with late-onset pre-eclampsia, after controlling for confounders. Moreover, maternal ethnic origin modified the association between early-onset pre-eclampsia in the first pregnancy and preterm births in the second pregnancy. Having a history of early-onset pre-eclampsia reduces the odds of having a large-for-gestational-age infant in the second pregnancy. A history of early-onset pre-eclampsia is associated with increased odds of adverse pregnancy outcomes despite a normotensive second pregnancy.

Physical activity, obesity and cardiometabolic risk factors in 9- to 10-year-old UK children of white European, South Asian and black African-Caribbean origin: the Child Heart And health Study in England (CHASE)

Aims/hypothesisPhysical inactivity is implicated in unfavourable patterns of obesity and cardiometabolic risk in childhood. However, few studies have quantified these associations using objective physical activity measurements in children from different ethnic groups. We examined these associations in UK children of South Asian, black African-Caribbean and white European origin.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study of 2,049 primary school children in three UK cities, who had standardised anthropometric measurements, provided fasting blood samples and wore activity monitors for up to 7 days. Data were analysed using multilevel linear regression and allowing for measurement error.ResultsOverall physical activity levels showed strong inverse graded associations with adiposity markers (particularly sum of skinfold thicknesses), fasting insulin, HOMA insulin resistance, triacylglycerol and C-reactive protein; for an increase of 100 counts of physical activity per min of registered time, levels of these factors were 12.2% (95% CI 10.2–14.1%), 10.2% (95% CI 7.5–12.8%), 10.2% (95% CI 7.5–12.8%), 5.8% (95% CI 4.0–7.5%) and 19.2% (95% CI 13.9–24.2%) lower, respectively. Similar increments in physical activity levels were associated with lower diastolic blood pressure (1.0 mmHg, 95% CI 0.6–1.5 mmHg) and LDL-cholesterol (0.04 mmol/l, 95% CI 0.01–0.07 mmol/l), and higher HDL-cholesterol (0.02 mmol/l, 95% CI 0.01–0.04 mmol/l). Moreover, associations were broadly similar in strength in all ethnic groups. All associations between physical activity and cardiometabolic risk factors were reduced (albeit variably) after adjustment for adiposity.Conclusions/interpretationObjectively measured physical activity correlates at least as well with obesity and cardiometabolic risk factors in South Asian and African-Caribbean children as in white European children, suggesting that efforts to increase activity levels in such groups would have equally beneficial effects.

Editor’s Choice

Editor’s Choice

FTO gene variation and measures of body mass in an African population.

BackgroundVariation in the fat mass and obesity associated (FTO) gene has been reproducibly associated with body mass index (BMI) and obesity in populations of White European origin. Data from Asians and African-Americans is less conclusive.MethodsWe assessed the effect of 16 FTO polymorphisms on body mass in a large population of predominantly lean Gambians (Nmax 2208) participating in a long-term surveillance program providing contemporary and early-life anthropometric measurements.ResultsSixteen FTO tagSNPs screened here, including several associated with BMI in Europeans, were not associated with birth weight (BWT), early weight gain in 1–2 year olds, BMI in adults (≥ 18 y), or weight-for-height (WFH) z-score across all ages. No association was seen between genotype and WFH z-score or other measures of body mass. The confidence limits indicate that the effect size for WFH z-score never exceeded 0.17 units per allele copy for any SNP (excluding the three SNPs with allele < 15%). with much the lowest allele frequency. The confidence interval of the effect size for rs9939609 did not overlap that reported previously in Europeans.ConclusionTo our knowledge this is the first study of FTO gene variation in a well-characterised African population. Our results suggest that FTO gene variation does not influence measures of body mass in Gambians living a traditional lifestyle, or has a smaller effect than that detected in Europeans. These findings are not directly comparable to results from previous studies in African-Americans due to differences in study design and analysis. It is also possible that any effect of FTO genotype on body mass is of limited relevance in a lean population where little excess food is available, compared to similar ethnic populations where food supply is plentiful.

Medically Unexplained Symptoms Presenting at Secondary Care—A Comparison of White Europeans and People of South Asian Ethnicity

To assess whether, among new out-patients at secondary care medical clinics, people of South Asian origin have a higher proportion of medically unexplained symptoms, and receive different care compared to white Europeans. A retrospective case note study was performed in a district general hospital with a high proportion of ethnic minorities in the local population. We examined the notes of 100 people each of South Asian and white European origin who were in the 20-39 years age range and attending as new medical out-patients. We recorded the presenting symptoms, investigation results, and management plan, and from this we classified them as either explained by recognized organic disease or medically unexplained. We also recorded the number of investigations and whether psychosocial factors were mentioned in the letter to the referring doctor. Complete data were available for 93 people of South Asian origin and 98 white Europeans. The proportion of each who had medically unexplained symptoms was 52% and 49% respectively. The mean number (SD) of investigations in each was 1.8 (1.5) and 1.7 (1.6). Psychosocial factors were mentioned in correspondence of 42% and 45% respectively. The prevalence of medically unexplained symptoms, in this UK clinic, is similar among younger adults of South Asian and white European origin. South Asians undergo similar investigation and psychosocial inquiry to their white counterparts, suggesting that younger South Asians are managed similarly to white Europeans with respect to this aspect of medical care.

Ethnicity and Left Ventricular Diastolic Function in Hypertension: An ASCOT (Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial) Substudy

We investigated whether diastolic function differs between hypertensive patients of African-Caribbean or white European origin and established whether differences could be explained by confounding variables. African Caribbeans are known to have a higher prevalence of heart failure than white Europeans but it is unclear whether this is a result of known risk factors. Tissue Doppler technology now allows accurate quantification of diastolic function, which is recognized as an important factor in the development of heart failure. Participants from a single center participating in the ASCOT (Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial), composed of patients with hypertension but no evidence of heart failure, were studied. Left ventricular structure and function were measured in 509 patients using conventional and tissue Doppler echocardiography. Diastolic function was assessed using the tissue Doppler early diastolic velocity E' (averaged from 3 left ventricular segments) and the ratio of this and the transmitral early filling velocity E (E/E'). In African-Caribbean patients, mean E' was significantly lower (7.7 cm/s vs. 8.6 cm/s, p = 0.003) and mean E/E' was significantly higher (8.85 vs. 7.93, p = 0.003). After adjustment for confounding variables-age, gender, systolic blood pressure, pulse pressure, cholesterol, smoking, ejection fraction, left ventricular mass index, and diabetes mellitus-the effect of African-Caribbean ethnicity on diastolic function remained highly significant (E': 7.52 vs. 8.51; p < 0.001; E/E': 8.89 vs. 7.93; p = 0.003; African Caribbeans vs. white Europeans for both comparisons). Diastolic function is significantly worse in hypertensive patients of African-Caribbean origin than in white Europeans. This difference in diastolic performance is not due to known confounding variables.

Constitutional delay of growth and puberty is not commonly associated with mutations in the acid labile subunit gene.

Constitutional delay of growth and puberty (CDGP) is a common clinical condition that may be inherited as an autosomal dominant, recessive or X-linked trait. However, single-gene defects underlying CDGP have not yet been identified. A small number of children (to date 10) with modest growth failure and in the majority delayed puberty, a phenotype similar to that of CDGP, have been reported to carry mutations in the IGF acid labile subunit (IGFALS) gene which encodes the ALS, a part of the ternary complex carrying IGF-I in the circulation. The aim of our study was to screen a well-characterised CDGP cohort exhibiting a range of growth retardation and pubertal delay for pathogenic sequence variants in IGFALS. We used denaturing high performance liquid chromatography (dHPLC) to screen for IGFALS mutations in DNA samples from 90 children (80 males) with CDGP of predominantly White European origin. DNA fragments generating abnormal waveforms were directly sequenced. No IGFALS mutation was identified in the coding sequences or exon-intron boundaries in our CDGP cohort. One abnormal waveform pattern in dHPLC in 15 children with CDGP was found to represent a recognised synonymous single-nucleotide polymorphism of the coding transcript in the second exon in residue 210 of IGFALS. IGFALS sequence variants are unlikely to be a common association with pubertal delay in children with CDGP.

Understanding the reasons for poor asthma outcomes in ethnic minorities: welcome progress, but important questions remain

Understanding the reasons for poor asthma outcomes in ethnic minorities: welcome progress, but important questions remain

Transnational Identities, Transnational Spaces: West Africans in Paris in Contemporary French Cinema

This article analyses the articulation of Paris as a transnational space in a series of French co-productions made since 2000 by filmmakers of both West African and white European origin. The films in question all draw on narratives of displacement which evoke the problematic transcultural experiences of West Africans in France and thereby comment on the larger narrative of globalisation. However, the article also identifies differences of style and content between white and African-authored films, and suggests that the latter are more concerned not only with individual subjectivities but also with the city as the site of positive transcultural encounters.

Paget Disease of Bone in Colombia and Latin America

Paget disease of bone has an unknown etiology, having complex pathogenesis leading to increased bone resorption in the first phase and an excess of bone formation with more advanced disease. The disease has been associated to white ancestry in Europe and other countries, being less common in people without European origin. The objectives of this study were to describe the Colombian cases of Paget disease and search the published literature for more Latin American cases and their characteristics. Electronic databases were searched up to August 2004: MEDLINE, PUBMED, BIREME LILAC, and MEDCARIB, evaluating the entire bibliography regarding reports of Paget disease in Latin America during the last 30 years. Additionally, we searched the medical databases of local reference centers to describe new cases from Colombia. We found 14 cases of Paget disease from Colombia; 12 of them were previously reported elsewhere and 2 additional cases were found in the medical database of a local reference center. We describe the main clinic characteristics, including age, symptoms, type and stage of involved bone (monostotic or polyostotic), and treatment, which generally are similar to cases from Europe or the United States. The literature search showed that a total of 1149 cases of Paget disease have been previously published from Latin America in the last 30 years, more than half of them coming from Argentina and Brazil with predominant white ancestry. We emphasize the presence of white European origin or ancestry in the great majority of reported cases of Paget disease in Latin America and Colombia. Studies of factors that influence the etiology in cases of non-European ancestry would be of interest.

Adiponectin in Umbilical Cord Blood Is Inversely Related to Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol But Not Ethnicity

Adiponectin is a recognized protective risk marker for cardiovascular disease in adults and is associated with an optimal lipid profile. The role of adiponectin at birth is not well understood, and its relationship with the neonatal lipid profile is unknown. Because ethnic disparities in cardiovascular risk have been attributed to low adiponectin and its associated low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), investigation at birth may help determine the etiology of these risk patterns. Our objective was to investigate the relationship between neonatal adiponectin and lipid profile at birth in two ethnic groups in cord blood. Seventy-four healthy mothers and their newborns of South Asian and White European origin were studied in this cross-sectional study at St. Mary's Hospital, Manchester, United Kingdom. Serum adiponectin, total cholesterol, HDL-C, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and triglyceride levels were measured in umbilical venous blood at birth and in maternal blood collected at 28 wk gestation. Cord adiponectin was significantly inversely associated with cord LDL-C (r = -0.32; P = 0.005) but not HDL-C. In a multiple regression analysis, cord LDL-C remained the most significant association of cord adiponectin (beta = -0.13; P < 0.001). We did not find any significant ethnic differences in cord adiponectin or lipids with the exception of triglycerides, which were significantly lower in South Asian newborns (P < 0.05). This is the first report of an inverse relationship between cord adiponectin and LDL-C at birth. In contrast to adult studies, we found no significant association between adiponectin and HDL-C in cord blood. Our results and the strong independent association between adiponectin and HDL-C observed in adult studies suggest a role for adiponectin in lipid metabolism. Ethnic differences in adiponectin may arise after birth.

Ethnic differences in beta cell adaptation to insulin resistance in obese children and adolescents

The prevalence of altered glucose metabolism in obese children and adolescents is growing at a significant rate, especially in ethnic minorities. It is not clear whether young people of different ethnic backgrounds differ in their adaptive mechanisms to obesity-related insulin resistance. The aim of this study was to evaluate the early insulin response and insulin clearance in response to an oral glucose load in obese children and adolescents. Seven hundred and nine obese children and adolescents underwent an OGTT. Indices of the early insulin response and insulin clearance were compared in participants of White European, African American and Hispanic origin. Participants of the three ethnic groups demonstrated similar mechanisms of adaptation to increasing insulin resistance, but with different magnitudes. African American subjects had a greater early insulin response and decreased insulin clearance than their White European and Hispanic counterparts. This happened regardless of whether the cohort was divided by glucose tolerance level or by level of insulin sensitivity. IGT across ethnic groups was characterised by a marked decline in the acute insulin response in the context of severe insulin resistance and very low insulin clearance. In obese children and adolescents, mechanisms of adaptation to obesity related to insulin resistance are similar across ethnic groups. The greater early insulin response needed to maintain glucose tolerance in young people of ethnic minorities may partially explain their greater tendency to develop type 2 diabetes.

623 Distributions of B-type natriuretic peptide levels are similar amongst patients with systolic heart failure of White European, South Asian, or African Caribbean origin

623 Distributions of B-type natriuretic peptide levels are similar amongst patients with systolic heart failure of White European, South Asian, or African Caribbean origin

The influence of dietary intake on the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system across three ethnic groups: a population-based study.

The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system has been implicated in the aetiopathogenesis of cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Since dietary factors and ethnicity are considered contributory to the development of these diseases, we examined the IGF system in relation to nutritional intake by ethnic group. Dietary intake in 257 subjects of White European, African-Caribbean and Pakistani ethnic origin living in Manchester, UK was assessed using ethnic-group-specific food-frequency questionnaires to assess habitual nutrient intake over the previous 12 months. Fasting IGF-I, IGF-II and IGF-binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1) concentrations were determined and their relationship to specific dietary constituents was analysed. Analysis by quintiles of nutrient intake showed a significant increase in circulating IGF-I concentration with increasing dietary fat intake (F for trend=3.9, ), saturated fat intake and for protein intake There was also a significant increase in IGF-II by quintiles of dietary protein intake There was a trend for increasing IGF-I with increasing energy intake. The relationships between circulating concentration of IGFBP-1, an acute regulator of IGF action, and fat/protein intake were opposite to those for IGF-I and IGF-II. Multiple linear regression modelling showed that people of Pakistani origin and older subjects had lower levels of IGF-I (Pakistani origin vs. others, ) (age, for both). There was an independent inverse relationship between IGF-I and dietary carbohydrate intake This study provides evidence for a dietary contribution to regulation of the IGF system, although the effects of ethnicity on circulating IGF levels remain dominant. We propose that the IGF system's influences on cancer risk in specific ethnic groups are potentially modifiable by dietary intervention.

Heritability of features of the insulin resistance syndrome in a community-based study of healthy families.

To investigate genetic and environmental influences on anthropometric, metabolic and fibrinolytic traits of the insulin resistance syndrome (IRS) in a population not characterized by a high degree of insulin resistance. We recruited 537 adults from 89 randomly ascertained healthy families of white north European origin from the general population. We used maximum likelihood analysis to estimate the heritabilities and effects of environmental covariates on traits of the IRS in these families. Adjusted for age, sex and body mass index, the traits showed considerable heritability. For waist-hip ratio, heritability was 15%. The heritabilities of fasting glucose, insulin and estimated insulin resistance were 20%, 23% and 23%, respectively. Heritabilities were 20%, 24% and 43% for triglycerides, LDL-cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol, respectively. For PAI-1 Ag and t-PA Ag they were 20% and 26%. Covariates explained 20-25% of the variance of lipids and insulin resistance and 35-36% of fibrinolytic factors. Childhood household influences significantly affected variance for waist-hip ratio (4%), fasting insulin (11%) and estimated insulin resistance (12%). These family data demonstrate significant genetic influence on anthropometric, fibrinolytic and glucose-related traits of the IRS in a healthy white North European population.

A population-based study of children with cerebral tuberculosis in New South Wales.

To determine the incidence of childhood cerebral tuberculosis (tuberculous meningitis [TBM] and tuberculoma) in a defined population. Retrospective, population-based study. All resident children aged up to 14 years in New South Wales diagnosed with cerebral tuberculosis, from 1982 to 1996. Population-based incidence of childhood TBM. 10 children with TBM and one with tuberculoma were identified in the 15 years. The incidence of TBM was 0.053 (95% CI, 0.025-0.097) per 100,000. Eight of the 10 TBM patients were born in Australia and five were of white European origin. Only one had been vaccinated with BCG vaccine. Three of the children died. The incidence of childhood TBM in New South Wales is low, and comparable with that in other First World countries.

Angiotensinogen in human essential hypertension.

The candidacy of angiotensinogen for a role in the genetic basis of hypertension is supported by the observation that plasma angiotensinogen levels track with raised blood pressure through families. In addition, transgenic mice with overexpression of a rat angiotensinogen gene develop hypertension, and knockout mice with a disrupted gene and absent angiotensinogen production develop low blood pressure. There are now two studies in populations of white European origin and one in African Caribbeans providing support for a role of the angiotensinogen gene locus in human essential hypertension.

A Ritual Choreography: The Orishas' Steps in Sortilegio

A Ritual Choreography The Orishas’ Steps In Sortilégio Leda Martins (bio) Until the early part of the twentieth century, the black presence in conventional theater projected a limited situation—that of invisibility. This was evident not only in the absence of black characters, but also by the distorted images of blacks that were elaborated by white imagination. The representational models that engendered and elaborated these images had their basis in a Eurocentric vision of the world in which the other, in this case the black, was only recognizable through the narcissistic look of the white “I,” staged as the sole, universal and absolute subject. Thus, in conventional theater, the course of the black persona define their invisibility and the unspeakable. Invisible, as was the hero of Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man, because they are perceived and elaborated, in spite of themselves, by a look that stigmatizes them in a series of stereotypes that negate and smother their otherness. Unspeakable, because the speech that constitutes them is produced through white discourse and reduces them to an alienating image that is imposed and ideologically conventionalized by Brazilian theatrical tradition. Until the 1940s, with rare exceptions, the figuration of blacks on the Brazilian stage assumed three predominant models: the submissive black, a type of tamed dog who was docile and passive; the pernicious and/or criminal element; and the black caricature, whose ridiculous and grotesque behavior motivated, and still motivates, laughter from the audience. In the theatrical game of mirrors the black appears as an image that is not only inverted, but opposite. The experience of otherness is thus reduced to the very negation of the other, projected as a simulacrum or an antonym of a narcissistic ego that desires itself to be omnipotent. Through these constant marks of the fictionalization of black characters, theatrical conventionality engendered a discourse of “knowledge” that put itself forth as truth. Brazilian theater, similar to cinema and television, mimicked the relations of power and oppression sustained in the society by finding support in an argument of authority that established a priori a pejorative value for the black sign. In the discourse of power that generates the discourse of knowledge, the experience of otherness is reduced to the negation and/or manipulation of the difference, and the scenic creation of the image of the black fits well with the values of a racist and discriminatory mentality. The Teatro Experimental do Negro (TEN)—(Black Experimental Theater)—was founded by Abdias do Nascimento in 1944. TEN was one of the most important achievements in the construction of alternative images and codes that sought to displace the black persona from the situation of object to that of subject, while [End Page 863] simultaneously showing the relations of power and discriminatory social practices that marked the possible “places” for blacks in Brazilian society. Until the mid-1960s, TEN carried out various artistic, cultural, and educational activities, such as literacy classes, acting courses, artistic competitions, conferences, debates, congresses, seminars, publications, etc., that had as a common theme the reflection on blacks in Brazilian society. The group’s numerous theatrical stagings were the most important of these activities. TEN staged dramas by Eugene O’Neill, Augusto Boal and Albert Camus, as well as various plays written especially for the company. Nine of these plays were included in an anthology, Dramas Para Negros e Prólogo Para Branco (Dramas for Blacks and Prologue for Whites) published in 1961. TEN sought to transform the representation of blacks on the Brazilian stage through stagings and productions that created an alternative diction and enunciation that broke with traditional models of fictionalization and presentation of black subjects and culture. The following testimony of Abdias do Nascimento highlights the objectives delineated by TEN: What is TEN? In terms of its aims TEN constitutes a complex organization. It was fundamentally conceived of as an instrument of redemption and revindication of black African values. These values were oppressed and/or relegated to an inferior plane in the context of so-called Brazilian culture where the emphasis is on elements of white European origin. Our theater would be a laboratory of cultural and artistic experimentation whose work, action and production explicitly and...

Diabetes mellitus and retinal vein occlusion in patients of Asian, west Indian and white European origin.

The incidence of retinal vein occlusion (RVO) is known to be related to several cardiovascular risk factors including diabetes mellitus, hypertension and hyperlipidaemia. We have assessed the prevalence of these risk factors in Caucasian (N = 536, mean age = 65.21 years), West Indians (N = 24, mean age = 57.3 years) and Asian (N = 28, mean age = 51.4 years) patients presenting with RVO. We found no significant differences between the three groups in the distribution of hyperlipidaemia, but diabetes mellitus was more common amongst both the Asians and W. Indians (10% v 29% and 38%, p < 0.01 and p < 0.001). Hypertension was also more common in both the Asians and the West Indians (59% v 64% and 83% m p < 0.001 and p < 0.0001). The Asians and West Indians presenting with RVO were significantly younger and had significantly higher body mass index than their Caucasian counterparts (Ethnic origin, BMI, mean age: Asian, 28.1 +/- 4.3, 51.5 +/- 12.3 years; West indian: 30.2 +/- 7.7, 57.3 + 10 years; White: 24.8 +/- 4.2, 65.2 +/- 11.4 years). In this study RVO occurred at a younger age in Asians and West Indians, and was associated with a greater prevalence of diabetes mellitus and hypertension. The prevalence of hyperlipidaemia was no different in the three groups.