Knowledge, attitudes and practices of South Asian immigrants in developed countries regarding oral cancer: an integrative review.

BACKGROUND: Oral cancer is a growing problem worldwide, with high incidence rates in South Asian countries. With increasing numbers of South Asian immigrants in developed countries, a possible rise in oral cancer cases is expected given the high prevalence in their source countries and the continued oral cancer risk behaviours of immigrants. The aim of this review is to synthesise existing evidence regarding knowledge, attitudes and practices of South Asian immigrants in developed countries regarding oral cancer. METHODS: Five electronic databases were systematically searched to identify original, English language articles focussing on oral cancer risk knowledge, attitudes and practices of South Asian immigrants in developed countries. All studies that met the following inclusion criteria were included: conducted among South Asian immigrants in developed countries; explored at least one study outcome (knowledge or attitudes or practices); used either qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods. No restrictions were placed on the publication date, quality and setting of the study. RESULTS: A total of 16 studies involving 4772 participants were reviewed. These studies were mainly conducted in the USA, UK, Italy and New Zealand between 1994 and 2018. Findings were categorised into themes of oral cancer knowledge, attitudes and practices. General lack of oral cancer risk knowledge (43-76%) among participants was reported. More than 50% people were found engaging in one or more oral cancer risk practices like smoking, betel quid/pan/gutka chewing. Some of the participants perceived betel quid/pan/gutka chewing habit good for their health (12-43.6%). CONCLUSION: This review has shown that oral cancer risk practices are prevalent among South Asian immigrants who possess limited knowledge and unfavourable attitude in this area. Culturally appropriate targeted interventions and strategies are needed to raise oral cancer awareness among South Asian communities in developed countries.

Identification of abuse experiences of South Asian women in the US and women in Mumbai, India.

The authors describe the experiences of abuse drawn from in-depth interviews conducted with 20 South Asian women in the United States and a sample of 21 abused women in Mumbai, India. We describe five major themes that identify the nature of domestic violence experienced in these two contexts, barriers to help-seeking and exiting abuse, and the process of ending the abusive relationship. The research sheds light on the similarities and differences in the two contexts. We outlined the similarities in the following themes (a) type of abuse, (b) treatment of children (c) abandonment. We found differences in the following themes (d) joint meeting, (e) back and forth between natal and marital home.

Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease in South Asians in the United States: Epidemiology, Risk Factors, and Treatments: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association.

South Asians (from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka) make up one quarter of the world's population and are one of the fastest-growing ethnic groups in the United States. Although native South Asians share genetic and cultural risk factors with South Asians abroad, South Asians in the United States can differ in socioeconomic status, education, healthcare behaviors, attitudes, and health insurance, which can affect their risk and the treatment and outcomes of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). South Asians have higher proportional mortality rates from ASCVD compared with other Asian groups and non-Hispanic whites, in contrast to the finding that Asian Americans (Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese) aggregated as a group are at lower risk of ASCVD, largely because of the lower risk observed in East Asian populations. Literature relevant to South Asian populations regarding demographics and risk factors, health behaviors, and interventions, including physical activity, diet, medications, and community strategies, is summarized. The evidence to date is that the biology of ASCVD is complex but is no different in South Asians than in any other racial/ethnic group. A majority of the risk in South Asians can be explained by the increased prevalence of known risk factors, especially those related to insulin resistance, and no unique risk factors in this population have been found. This scientific statement focuses on how ASCVD risk factors affect the South Asian population in order to make recommendations for clinical strategies to reduce disease and for directions for future research to reduce ASCVD in this population.

The impact of domestic violence exposure on South Asian children in the United States: Perspectives of domestic violence agency staff.

The South Asian community is the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States, and past research suggests that South Asian domestic violence (DV) survivors may require culturally-specific resources. Similarly, South Asian children in the US exposed to DV may have unique responses and needs, but this has not been explored to date. The objective of this study was to examine the specific needs of South Asian children exposed to DV from the vantage point of staff from South Asian DV agencies across the United States. Thirty interviews were conducted, with data coded and consolidated into larger themes using thematic analysis. Participants described several factors important to understanding the impact of DV on South Asian children including the role of the extended family, identifying with two cultures, fear about what the South Asian community will think, gender differences, and the importance of projecting an image of perfection. Participants also discussed development of culturally-tailored resources. This study suggests the importance of framing South Asian children's experiences within the context of interweaving South Asian and American cultural values, with careful attention paid to how potential culture clashes between parents and children may impact the way children process trauma. Further work should triangulate these themes with children, parents, and extended family, as well as collaborate with South Asian DV agencies to design child-focused programs.

[Epidemiological survey of leprosy conducted in metropolitan France between 2009 and 2010]. / Enquête épidémiologique sur la lèpre en France métropolitaine en 2009 et 2010.

BACKGROUND: There is no official leprosy register in France. The last epidemiological survey on leprosy in metropolitan France was done between 1995 and 1998. We performed a new epidemiological study of leprosy in metropolitan France in 2009 and 2010. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We contacted 85 dermatology and infectious disease units by e-mail or by telephone in order to determine the number of leprosy patients either being followed up or newly diagnosed in 2009 and 2010. RESULTS: The response rate was 87%. In 2010, 127 patients were being followed up in metropolitan France, mostly at dermatology units (78%). Seventy-five patients were on anti-bacillary treatment and the prevalence was 0.011/10,000. There were 39 new cases diagnosed in 2009 and 2010 (mean 19 cases/year) (low case-detection rate: 0.003 per 10,000 inhabitants). Among the new cases, seven patients (18%) were of French origin, with two from metropolitan France and five from French overseas territories. DISCUSSION: Our study confirms the persistence of imported leprosy in France and shows no significant decrease in the number of new cases since 1998 (19 vs. 18 new cases/year) or in disease prevalence (0.013 vs. 0.011 per 10,000 inhabitants). This prevalence is very far removed from the one per 10,000 inhabitants proposed by the World Health Organization as the criteria for endemic disease. Most patients in our survey were immigrants (82%). Lepromatous forms (46%) were more frequent than the tuberculoid forms (33%). All patients had either travelled to or lived in areas of high leprosy prevalence, including metropolitan subjects. CONCLUSION: Leprosy remains present in metropolitan France, and it is still important to continue teaching about it at medical faculties in order to ensure diagnosis of new patients as early as possible.

Rights to food with a human face in the global south.

This article seeks to dispel the popular myth surrounding the food crises which precipitated food riots in the global South in 2008. Arguing from a structural and historical perspective, the article suggests that global hunger is a deep-rooted crisis that is embedded in the social and structural variables associated within the nation-state that places a restraint on the self-regulating capacity of nation-states in the South. Internationalizing the food crisis, however, will do more harm to the south's agricultural transformation and rural development. The article argues for integrated rural development that will increase output growth through an institutional, technological, and marketing strategy.

Writing Indigenous women's lives in the Bay of Bengal: cultures of empire in the Andaman Islands, 1789-1906.

This article explores the lives of two Andamanese women, both of whom the British called "Tospy." The first part of the article takes an indigenous and gendered perspective on early British colonization of the Andamans in the 1860s, and through the experiences of a woman called Topsy stresses the sexual violence that underpinned colonial settlement as well as the British reliance on women as cultural interlocutors. Second, the article discusses colonial naming practices, and the employment of Andamanese women and men as nursemaids and household servants during the 1890s­1910s. Using an extraordinary murder case in which a woman known as Topsy-ayah was a central witness, it argues that both reveal something of the enduring associations and legacies of slavery, as well as the cultural influence of the Atlantic in the Bay of Bengal. In sum, these women's lives present a kaleidoscope view of colonization, gender, networks of Empire, labor, and domesticity in the Bay of Bengal.

Intracranial large artery disease among OCSP subtypes in ethnic South Asian ischemic stroke patients.

The site of vascular stenosis correlates well with the Oxfordshire Community Stroke Project (OCSP) classification among Caucasians, but not among ethnic Chinese patients. We prospectively studied 205 consecutive ethnic South Asian ischemic stroke patients to investigate the prevalence of intracranial large artery disease determined by transcranial color-coded doppler and magnetic resonance angiography among OCSP subtypes. The distribution of OCSP subtypes was 7% total anterior circulation infarction (TACI), 17% partial anterior circulation infarction (PACI), 14% posterior circulation infarction (POCI) and 62% lacunar infarction (LACI). Significant intracranial large artery disease was common among all OCSP subtypes; 79% with TACI, 47% PACI, 65% POCI and 44% LACI. This is similar to ethnic Chinese data and is likely due to the predominance of intracranial disease over extracranial disease. Clinical axioms using OSCP subtypes based on Caucasian data may be misleading if applied to ethnic South Asians.

Prevalence and secular trends in obesity in Pacific and Indian Ocean island populations.

Surveys conducted in 10 Pacific island populations and in the multiethnic populations of Mauritius and Rodrigues in the Indian Ocean have provided data on the prevalence of obesity, potential etiological factors and medical hazards associated with obesity. The results indicate that the prevalence of obesity (by body mass index (BMI) in some of these populations is among the highest in the world. Obesity related to degree of modernization is more common in urban than in rural locations and tends to be found more often in women. In two populations where longitudinal data were available, there were dramatic increases in prevalence over relatively short time periods. Obesity contributed to the risk of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and was associated with other risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in all populations, but no relationship could be found with total mortality in three ethnic groups for whom data were available. A genetic susceptibility to obesity combined with social pressures that favor high energy intakes and reduced physical activity are believed to be important in these populations. The challenge for the future lies in developing culturally appropriate programs for preventing obesity and thus reducing associated morbidity, while continuing to research its behavioral and genetic determinants.

[Malaria in the Dunkerque hospital center from December 1979 to December 1990]. / Le paludisme au centre hospitalier de Dunkerque de décembre 1979 à décembre 1990.

Seventy-one cases of malaria were diagnosed in the hospital of Dunkerque from 1979 to 1990. Forty-five patients have been infected in the Comores islands. Among the 24 other imported cases, 17 (71%) have been contaminated in Western or Central Africa. One case of congenital malaria and one of malaria acquired by blood transfusion are also reported. Plasmodium falciparum was detected in 84.5% of the patients. The four human species were found among the Comorians. Two cases with abnormal forms of Plasmodium vivax were observed.

[Imported falciparum malaria in Marseilles hospitals in 1987. Apropos of 104 cases]. / Le paludisme d'importation à Plasmodium falciparum dans les hôpitaux de Marseille en 1987. A propos de 104 cas.

Patients were composed of 85 adults and 19 children; 70 were European, 23 Comorian; malaria was contracted by 9 patients in French Guyana, 60 in Africa, 23 in Comoro Islands; prophylaxis was correct for 45 patients (nearly all of the cases with chloroquine) when the first symptoms occurred. Every case of malaria appeared during the month following their return from an endemic area. Fever was often moderate or intermittent, altered by prophylaxis and previous treatments. Some patients had a clinical profile of "visceral evolutive malaria" and 3 a cerebral malaria. The most frequent biologic alteration was thrombopenia (40 times under 100,000/microliters). No relation between parasites density and clinical profile has been identified. The sensitivity of the strains for antimalarial drugs has been studied 35 times: 28 strains were chloroquine resistant, 3 have a decreased sensitivity for quinine. Most of the resistant strains came from Central Africa. Two patients died.

[Two cases of ankylosing spondylitis in Negroes from Indian Ocean (author's transl)]. / A propos de deux cas de spondylarthrite ankylosante observés chez des Noirs de l'Océan Indien.

Are reported: the first one, observed in Tananarive, on a 26 years old man born in Madagascar, with involvement of sacroiliac articulation and rachis. The second one, observed in Marseille on a 20 years old man who was born in la Reunion, with serious right coxitis and sacroileitis. In the second case, the investigation of HLA B27 antigen was positive. Both cases were probably primitive. A review of literature shows unusualness of ankylosing spondylitis in tropical countries.