1st Edition

Health and Ethnicity

Edited By Helen Macbeth, Prakash Shetty Copyright 2001

    It is becoming increasingly apparent that certain diseases occur at higher frequencies in different ethnic groups (e.g. Afro-Carribeans and sickle-cell anaemia). The causes for such differences are only just being investigated and the factors involved are clearly both genetic and non-genetic. The biological complexity lies in the interaction of genetic variation and lifestyle differences. Cultural differences range from diet to traditional remedies, from religious beliefs to marriage patterns and much more.
    This multidisciplinary volume discusses these factors, with contributions from geneticists, medics, anthropologists, epidemiologists and social scientists. Anyone considering variation in health experience due to ethnic factors would be enriched by reading the different perspectives presented in this volume.

    1. Introduction Helen Macbeth and Prakash Shetty 2. Defining the Ethnic Group; Important and Impossible Helen Macbeth 3. Ethnicity and Race as Epidemiological Variables: Centrality of Purpose and Context Raj Bhopal 4. The Contribution of Socioeconomic Position to Health Differentials Between Ethnic Groups: Evidence from the US and Britain James Nazroo and George Davey Smith 5. Health: An Elusive Concept Gilbert Lewis 6. Human Inbreeding: A Familiar Story Full of Surprises Alan Bittles et al. 7. The Inherited Disorders of Haemoglobin David J. Weatherall 8. Genetic Variation and Ethnic Variablility in Disease Risk Ryk Ward 9. Approaches to Investigating the Genetic Basis of Ethnic Differences in Disease Risk Paul McKeigue 10. Diabetes, Ancestral Diets and Dairy Foods: An Evolutionary Perspective on Population Differences In Susceptibility to Diabetes Anthony J. McMichael 11. Variations in Health and Disease: Race, Ethnicity or 'Nutritional Transition'? Prakash Shetty 12. Ethnic Variation and Cardiovascular Disease Sonia S. Anand and Salim Yusuf 13. Ethnicity and the Risk of Cancer D. Max Parkin 14. 'Culture' in the Field of Race and Mental Health Roland Littlewood 15. Sexual Health and Ethnicity Kaye Wellings and K. A. Fenton 16. Challenges and Policy Implications of Ethnic Diversity and Health Rasaratnam Balarajan Bhopal, University of Edinburgh Medical School, James Nazroo, University College London, Gilbert Lewis, University of Cambridge, Allan Bittles, Edith Cowan University, David J. Weatherall, University of Oxford, Ryk Ward, University of Oxford, Paul McKeigue, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Anthony J. Mc Michael, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Prakash Shetty, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Max Parkin, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Roland Littlewood, University College London, Kaye Wellings, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, K.A. Fenton, London School of Hygeine and Tropical Medicine, R. Balarajan, St Bernard's Hospital, Salim Yusuf, McMaster University, Sonia S. Anand, Hamilton General Hospital, George Davey Smith, Bristol University.

    Biography

    Prakash Shetty, Helen Macbeth