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PubMedDate not supplied

The Pacific Islander Cancer Control Network's role in cancer awareness, research and training.

PURPOSE: The Pacific Islander Cancer Control Network (PICCN) is one of the 18 Special Populations Networks recently established by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to address the cancer control needs of America's medically under-served populations. The PICCN focuses on three Pacific Islander groups: Samoans, Guamanians/Chamorros, and Tongan Americans. The program provides an infrastructure for collaboration between an academic institution, the University of California, Irvine; an NCI designated cancer center, the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center; community-based organizations; and other agencies concerned with the health of Pacific Islanders. METHODS: The PICCN's objectives include improving cancer awareness, enhancing recruitment to clinical trials, increasing the number of cancer control investigators, and encouraging more research among these Pacific Islanders. The activities that increase cancer awareness include assessing existing cancer education materials aimed at Pacific Islanders, working with the NCI's Cancer Information Service to modify existing materials, developing new culturally-sensitive materials, and distributing the materials in a culturally-sensitive manner. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The PICCN enhances recruitment of Pacific Islanders to clinical trials by establishing relationships with cancer centers, making them aware of existing cancer center studies, and developing culturally appropriate recruitment materials when necessary. The network plans to increase the number of Pacific Islander investigators and encourage more research among Pacific Islanders by identifying potential investigators, informing them about existing cancer control training opportunities, developing a new training opportunity, and providing mentors to help with the development of pilot projects and RO1 applications. CONCLUSION: Through these efforts, the PICCN is addressing the goal of eliminating health disparities among ethnic and racial minorities in this country.

Awareness↗

PubMed2007

National-level capacity-building assistance model to enhance HIV prevention for Asian & Pacific Islander communities.

OBJECTIVES: Asian & Pacific Islander (A&PI) communities in the United States face increasing risk for HIV, yet have limited access to US culturally competent HIV prevention services. We describe a national HIV prevention capacity-building program for A&PI communities using a multitiered approach addressing systems, institutional, and individual level outcomes. METHODS: The program developed a national network of A&PI HIV and health-focused institutions, and conducts regional-level replication and dissemination of this model to support four areas of capacity building. This network is led by two national organizations coordinating the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the National Capacity-Building Assistance Program. RESULTS: Baseline data are compared with the last 2 years of preliminary data that show increased capacity among community-based organizations and health departments to strengthen culturally competent models of HIV prevention. Systems-level outcomes so far show enhanced leadership skills for HIV-related advocacy efforts, increased ability to leverage the media, and stronger partnerships between peer providers, health departments, and community leaders. CONCLUSION: This program model preliminarily demonstrates that national capacity-building initiatives can foster coalition development, replication of program models, materials sharing, and new leadership that improve HIV-related prevention services for A&PI communities.

Asian↗

PubMed1998

The sexual practices of Asian and Pacific Islander high school students.

PURPOSE: To describe the sexual behaviors, beliefs, and attitudes of Asian and Pacific Islander California high school students and to compare them to other racial/ethnic groups. METHODS: Data were collected from an anonymous self-administered survey of 2026 ninth to 12th graders in a Los Angeles County school district; 186 of the respondents described themselves as Asian and Pacific Islander. The survey was conducted in April 1992. RESULTS: A higher percentage of Asian and Pacific Islander adolescents (73%) compared with African-American (28%, p < .001), Latino (43%, p < .001), white (50%, p < .001), and other (48%, p < .001) adolescents had never had vaginal intercourse. Asian and Pacific Islander adolescents were less likely than other adolescents to report having engaged in heterosexual genital sexual activities during the prior year, including masturbation of or by a partner, fellatio with ejaculation, cunnilingus, and anal intercourse. Few students in any group reported homosexual genital sexual activities. Asians and Pacific Islanders who had had vaginal intercourse were more likely than most other groups to have used a condom at first vaginal intercourse, but Asians and Pacific Islanders had not used condoms more consistently over the prior year. Asians and Pacific Islanders were more likely to expect parental disapproval if they had vaginal intercourse and less likely to think that their peers had had vaginal intercourse. CONCLUSIONS: Asian and Pacific Islander high school students in one California school district appear to be at lower sexual risk than other racial/ethnic groups. However, a large minority are engaging in activities that can transmit disease and lead to unwanted pregnancy. Therefore, current efforts to develop culturally sensitive clinical and community-based approaches to sexual risk prevention should include Asians and Pacific Islanders.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Blood mercury reporting in NHANES: identifying Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, and multiracial groups.

INTRODUCTION: Asians, Pacific Islanders, and Native Americans are a potentially high-risk group for dietary exposure to methylmercury through fish consumption. However, blood mercury levels in this group have not been identified in recent reports of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for the years 1999-2002. METHODS: We used NHANES data from 1999-2002 to obtain population estimates of blood mercury levels among women of childbearing age classified as belonging to the "other" racial/ethnic group (Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, and multiracial; n = 140). Blood mercury levels in this group were compared with those among all other women participants, classified as Mexican American, non-Hispanic black, non-Hispanic white, and "other" Hispanic. RESULTS: An estimated 16.59 +/- 4.0% (mean +/- SE) of adult female participants who self-identified as Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, or multiracial (n = 140) had blood mercury levels > or = 5.8 microg/L, and 27.26 +/- 4.22% had levels > or = 3.5 microg/L. Among remaining survey participants (n = 3,497), 5.08 +/- 0.90% had blood mercury levels > or = 5.8 microg/L, and 10.86 +/- 1.45% had levels > or = 3.5 microg/L. CONCLUSIONS: Study subjects in NHANES who self-identified as Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, or multiracial had a higher prevalence of elevated blood mercury than all other racial/ethnic participants in the survey. Future studies should address reasons for the high mercury levels in this group and explore possible interventions for lowering risk of methylmercury exposure in this population.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1989

Societies in transition: mortality patterns in Pacific Island populations.

The 22 Pacific Island countries and territories are in a state of demographic and epidemiological transition. Mortality data for the period around 1980 were collected from various sources and are presented in this comparative study. Because death registration in many Pacific countries is deficient some data have been adjusted for underenumeration; and some mortality estimates have been calculated by indirect means, using data from censuses or surveys. Cause of death information is affected by diagnostic inaccuracy and often tabulated in broad categories only; in some Pacific countries cause of death data are only available on hospital deaths. The less developed Melanesian malarious countries and the less developed dispersed atoll nations manifest higher mortality, and higher proportional mortality from infectious disease compared with other states. The more developed US-associated states, two New Zealand-associated states, and New Caledonian Europeans all have reasonably low mortality, and relatively high proportional mortality from cardiovascular disease (CVD). Females have longer life expectancy at birth than males in all countries except Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. The phosphate-rich island of Nauru presents an atypical picture with considerable adult male mortality from diseases associated with modernization.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1996

Birthweight outcomes among Asian American and Pacific Islander subgroups in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Information on birth outcome among the Asian and Pacific Islander populations in the US is limited. This report examines the risks of moderately low (MLBW) and very low birthweight (VLBW) among six Asian subgroups (Chinese, Japanese, Fillipinos, Asian Indians, Koreans, Vietnamese) and three Pacific Islander subgroups (Hawaiians, Guamanians, Samoans) as compared with non-Hispanic whites. METHODS: Data from the 1992 US Natality File were used to calculate the percentage of MLBW and VLBW births among each Asian American and Pacific Islander subgroup. Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (OR) after adjustment for maternal characteristics. RESULTS: VLBW OR ranged from 0.75 among Chinese to 1.59 among Asian Indians. MLBW OR ranged from 0.89 among Samoans to 2.12 among Asian Indians. Adjusted OR increased for most Asian American groups (e.g. VLBW OR = 1.89 for Asian Indians) and decreased among Pacific Islander subgroups, indicating relatively favourable risk characteristics for Asian Americans and unfavourable characteristics for Pacific Islanders. Risk of VLBW was not necessarily related to risk of MLBW. For instance, the VLBW OR among Japanese was 1.07, compared to an MLBW OR of 1.47. CONCLUSIONS: Marked heterogeneity in birthweight outcome was observed between Asian American and Pacific Islander subgroups. This heterogeneity was not related to traditional demographic risk factors. Additionally, risks of VLBW and MLBW were not always related. These findings suggests that the Asian American and Pacific Islander populations should not be aggregated into a single category, and that traditional measures of risk and birth outcome may not be valid for those groups.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1988

The epidemiology of AIDS in Asian and Pacific Islander populations in San Francisco.

To evaluate the epidemiology of HIV infection in Asian and Pacific Islander populations in San Francisco, we compared cases of AIDS reported in Asians and Pacific Islanders with those reported in other racial and ethnic groups. The incidence of AIDS in Asians and Pacific Islanders was significantly lower than in Whites, Blacks, Latinos and American Indians and Alaska natives. AIDS cases among Asians and Pacific Islanders have increased 177% since 1985 compared with 54% in other racial and ethnic groups, with the greatest increase in homosexual and bisexual men and transfusion recipients. Among Asian and Pacific Islander ethnic groups, the incidence of AIDS was 168 cases per 100,000 in Polynesians, 141 per 100,000 in Japanese, 92 per 100,000 in 100 Filipinos, 72 per 100,000 in southeast Asians, and 21 per 100,000 in Chinese. We conclude that AIDS cases are disproportionately increasing in Asians and Pacific Islanders in San Francisco.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Tobacco use among Pacific Islanders: risk-behavior surveys and data sets for the study of smoking behavior on Guam.

OBJECTIVES: To increase awareness of data resources from the Pacific Island of Guam, and their utility for research investigations of factors that encourage or discourage smoking among Pacific Islanders, and in turn, to produce empirical findings on tobacco use among Pacific Islanders to help fill data gaps on Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) tobacco use for small AAPI populations. METHODS: Guam's 1995 and 1999 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data sets were selected, as well as its 1999 Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities Youth Risk Behavior System (YRBS) study, and a panel study of parental influences on risk behavior of middle school age youth conducted in 2000. Resultant sample sizes were 896 persons in 1995, and 506 in 1999. Guam's YRBS data sets are samples of middle school (grades 6-8) and high school youth (grades 9-12) in classrooms randomly sampled by grade level from both public and private schools. In 1999, a resultant sample of 589 high school students was obtained. In 2000, using the same sampling process as the YRBS studies but limited to public middle schools only, a specialized panel study obtained a sample of 270 middle school youth to study the influences of parents and peers on smoking and other risk behaviors. FINDINGS: Current smoking prevalence among adult Pacific Islanders (38 percent) on Guam is similar to other Pacific islands but comparatively high to US studies. In both 1995 and 1999, Pacific Islanders were more likely to be current smokers than other ethnic communities on island, and among those ever-smoking, they were less likely to have quit (i.e., report being former smokers). The same patterns of ethnic differences between Pacific Islanders, Asians, and non-API persons were consistently found among high school, and also middle school youth. These ethnic differences may implicate factors of tobacco accessibility, cultural definitions of "childhood," and adult role modeling, as contributing forces to smoking behavior on Guam. CONCLUSION: Pacific island communities allow for studies of ethnic-cultural influences that are not masked by factors such as acculturation, socioeconomic status, the intensity of media advertising, or urban life and its attendant conditions of minority status that affect AAPI studies in the US mainland. For tobacco control advocates and AAPI scholars across the nation, data from Guam may prove useful for investigations of differences in lifestyles, cultural beliefs or practices, and environmental exposures that encourage or discourage smoking among AAPIS, and thus help to unravel the compounding interplay between factors.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Differential mortality and transplantation rates among Asians and Pacific Islanders with ESRD.

Few studies in patients with ESRD have examined outcomes in Asian or Pacific Islander subgroups compared with white individuals. The objective of this study was to assess ethnic disparities in mortality and kidney transplantation among a multiethnic cohort of incident dialysis patients. A total of 24,963 patients who initiated dialysis within the TransPacific Renal Network (Network 17) between April 1, 1995, and September 30, 2001, were studied to ascertain death and kidney transplantation through September 30, 2002. Overall, 12,902 deaths and 2258 kidney transplantations were observed during 59,075 person-years of follow-up. Mortality on dialysis among Asians and Pacific Islanders (except Chamorros) was lower than that of white individuals after controlling for differences in sociodemographic characteristics, comorbid conditions, and other risk factors for death (adjusted hazard ratio [95% confidence interval] versus white individuals: Japanese 0.64 [0.57 to 0.72], Chinese 0.64 [0.52 to 0.78], Filipino 0.64 [0.57 to 0.72], Native Hawaiian 0.84 [0.72 to 0.96], Samoan 0.62 [0.48 to 0.82], and Chamorro 0.96 [0.84 to 1.20]). In contrast, Asians and Pacific Islanders were much less likely to undergo kidney transplantation (adjusted rate ratio [95% confidence interval] versus white individuals: Japanese 0.34 [0.24 to 0.46], Chinese 0.54 [0.30 to 0.88], Filipino 0.32 [0.26 to 0.47], Native Hawaiian 0.17 [0.10 to 0.30], Samoan 0.17 [0.07 to 0.38], and Chamorro 0.04 [0.01 to 0.14]). Despite wide variations in primary cause of ESRD, clinical characteristics, and body size at dialysis initiation, Asians and Pacific Islanders experience better survival but substantially lower transplantation rates compared with white individuals. Strategies that are aimed at improving access to transplantation in Asian and Pacific Islander communities may further enhance survival among Asians and Pacific Islanders with ESRD.

Age Distribution↗

PubMed1995

Health status of Asians and Pacific Islanders.

The elder Asian or Pacific-Island American presents a dynamic, interactive paradigm of forces beyond medical practice that includes religious, societal, and historical factors of delivering health care. The cultural characteristics of family and function, perception of time and healing, and the anthropologic factors of health beliefs on health behaviors can add to understanding our medical patients. Some important trends of environmental factors on expression of genetic predisposition to certain illnesses, such as diabetes and gout, can be used in health prevention. The significance of diet on certain cancers can be better understood using nativity factors. Many of the mental illnesses borne by immigrants can be recognized and treated. Significant clinical research directions imply an ability of American medicine to target at-risk Asians and Pacific Islanders for specific prevention and early diagnoses. The base knowledge of differential physiologic changes for aging and disease due to genetic predisposition and the correlates of social, cultural, and behavioral factors of diseases can then be improved.

Aged↗

PubMed2002

Acute gastroenteritis associated with seafood privately imported from the Pacific Islands.

AIMS: To investigate a potential link between consumption of food privately imported from the Pacific Islands and presentation with acute gastroenteritis to Middlemore Hospital Emergency Department. METHODS: This was a three month prospective observational case study that included patients aged greater than fifteen years presenting with acute gastroenteritis and a history of food privately imported from the Pacific Islands. Data included case demographics, symptoms, island of food origin and food type. Stool and blood samples were collected and analysed. RESULTS: Of 358 patients who presented to Middlemore Emergency Department during the study period with gastroenteritis, 34 (9.4%) had a history of consumption of food privately imported from the Pacific Islands. The seafood came from Tonga (23 cases), Samoa (10 cases) or Niue (1 case). The implicated seafood was shellfish (28 cases), jellyfish (2 cases), fish intestine (2 cases), seaweed or seaslug (1 case each). Fourteen patients (41%) provided stool samples; all were culture positive for Vibrio parahaemolyticus (VPH). CONCLUSIONS: This case series confirms a link between acute VPH gastroenteritis and consumption of seafood privately imported from the Pacific Islands. A number of public health initiatives to reduce the burden of VPH gastroenteritis among Auckland's Pacific Islanders have commenced. The Ministries of Health, Agriculture and Forestry are considering tighter controls or banning food privately imported from the Pacific Islands.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

Ethnic disparities in care following acute coronary syndromes among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders during the initial hospitalization.

Despite the fact that Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are the fastest growing minority population in the United States, little is known about their treatment patterns and outcomes, particularly for Asian American and Pacific Islander sub-groups. Multivariable logistic regression was used to compare differences in revascularization and mortality rates following acute coronary syndromes among Asian American and Pacific Islander sub-groups [Japanese (n = 1342), Chinese (n = 249), Filipino (n = 314), Native Hawaiian (n = 361)) and Caucasians (n = 569)] during the initial hospitalization using administrative (claims) data from 1997 to 1999. Analyses were stratified by gender and controlled for age, diabetes mellitus, congestive heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, ACG morbidity level and system of care. We found that the type of procedures received during the initial hospitalization differed according to patient ethnicity for male patients but not for female ones. Compared to Caucasians, male Asian Amercian and Pacific Islanders patients were less likely to undergo percutaneous coronary interventions and more likely to undergo coronary artery bypass graft surgery. In the future, a more comprehensive outcomes study is needed, to examine the impact of any interethnic differences in revascularization rates on intermediate and long-term mortality, patient satisfaction, and self-reported functioning and well-being. The trend toward higher mortality following acute coronary syndromes among Asian Americans and Pacific Islander males emphasizes the importance of such a study.

Asian↗

PubMed1997

Associations between body morphology and microalbuminuria in healthy middle-aged European, Maori and Pacific Island New Zealanders.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between albuminuria and measures of body morphology. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study of European, Maori and Pacific Island workers aged 40 y and over. SUBJECTS: 3960 non-diabetic, non-hypertensive, non-lipidaemic, non-proteinuric middle-aged men and women. MEASUREMENTS: Height, weight, waist, hip, fasting and 2 h glucose, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, urinary creatinine and urinary albumin measurements. RESULTS: After adjusting for age and gender, the relative risks (95% confidence interval) of microalbuminuria were 4.87-fold (3.10-7.64) higher in Maori, and 4.96-fold (3.40-7.24) higher in Pacific Islanders compared to European New Zealanders. In contrast, age and gender adjusted relative risks (95% confidence interval) for high albumin:creatinine ratios were 6.38 (4.27, 9.53) in Maori and 5.14 (3.54, 7.48) in Pacific Islanders compared to European workers. Workers with microalbuminuria had higher urinary creatinine concentrations than those with urinary albumin in the normal range. Age and gender adjusted partial correlation coefficients between urinary albumin concentrations and the inverse of urinary creatinine concentrations were highest in European and Maori workers. Apart from Pacific islanders, urinary creatinine concentrations accounted for over 20% of the variation in urinary albumin concentrations in healthy individuals. Other independent predictors of urinary albumin concentrations were waist measurements, short stature and body mass index in Europeans and Pacific Islanders, and systolic blood pressure levels and gender in Europeans. After adjusting for age, gender, waist, height, 2 h glucose, urinary creatinine, systolic blood pressure and body mass index Maori and Pacific Islanders still had significantly higher urinary albumin concentrations than Europeans. CONCLUSION: Urinary creatinine concentrations were significantly associated with urinary albumin concentrations in all ethnic groups, and, with the exception of Pacific Islanders, accounted for a large proportion of the variation in urinary albumin concentrations in healthy individuals. Urinary albumin concentrations were associated with measures of obesity and short stature in Europeans and Pacific Islanders, and systolic blood pressure levels and gender in Europeans. However, measures of body morphology did not completely explain the higher urinary albumin concentrations in Maori or Pacific Islanders.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Body size, body composition, and fat distribution: a comparison of young New Zealand men of European, Pacific Island, and Asian Indian ethnicities.

AIMS: To investigate body size and body fat relationships and fat distribution in young healthy men drawn from New Zealand European, Pacific Island, and Asian Indian populations. METHOD: A total of 114 healthy men (64 European, 31 Pacific Island, 19 Asian Indian) aged 17-30 years underwent measurements of height, weight, and body composition by total body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Body mass index (BMI) was then calculated. Percent body fat (%BF), fat-free mass, bone mineral content, bone mineral density, abdominal fat, thigh fat, and appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASMM) were obtained from the DXA scans. RESULTS: For the same BMI, %BF for Pacific Island men was 4% points lower and for Asian Indian men was 7-8% points higher compared to Europeans. Compared to European men for the same %BF, BMI was 2-3 units higher for Pacific Island, and 3-6 units lower for Asian Indian. The ratio of abdominal fat to thigh fat, adjusted for height, weight, and %BF, was significantly higher for Asian Indian men than European (p=0.022) and Pacific Island (p=0.002) men. ASMM, adjusted for height and weight, was highest in Pacific Island and lowest in Asian Indian men. CONCLUSIONS: The relationship between %BF and BMI is different for European, Pacific Island, and Asian Indian men which may, at least in part, be due to differences in muscularity. Asian Indians have more abdominal fat deposition than their European and Pacific Island counterparts. Use of universal BMI cut-off points are not appropriate for comparison of obesity prevalence between these ethnic groups.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1997

Climate Convention Implementation: An Opportunity for the Pacific Island Nations to Move Toward Sustainable Energy Systems

/ The impacts of global warming are among the more serious environmental threats for the Pacific Island countries. These nations justifiably argue that developed countries should give immediate priority to the implementation of climate change mitigation policies because of the severe nature of potential greenhouse impacts for the Pacific Islands. Another immediate priority acknowledged by these nations is the need for development of adaptation policies that plan for adjustment or adaptation, where possible, to the foreshadowed impacts of climate change. This article does not focus on adaptation or mitigation policy directly but on an allied opportunity that exists for the Pacific Islands via the auspices of the Climate Convention, because the existing very costly energy systems used in the Pacific Island region are fossil-fuel dependent. It is argued here that efforts can be made towards the development of energy systems that are ecologically sustainable because Pacific Island nations are eligible to receive assistance to introduce renewable energy technology and pursue energy conservation via implementation mechanisms of the Climate Convention and, in particular, through transfer of technology and via joint implementation. It is contended that assistance in the form of finance, technology, and human resource development from developed countries and international organizations would provide sustainable benefits in improving the local Pacific Island environments. It is also emphasized that mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions is not the responsibility of the Pacific Islands as they contribute very little on a per capita global scale and a tiny proportion of total global greenhouse gas emissions.KEY WORDS: Pacific Islands; Climate change; Renewable energy; Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1996

Views of Pacific Islands people with noninsulin dependent diabetes: a Wellington survey.

AIMS: The aims of the study were: (1) to ascertain the views of Pacific Islands people with diabetes on diabetes services they are receiving, and (2) to identify their perceptions on their health and diabetes related problems. METHODS: A random sample survey of Wellington and Kenepuru diabetes clinics and the Wellington Pacific Islands community was undertaken using person to person interviews by seven trained Pacific Islands interviewers. The Tokelau Migrant Study questionnaire of Dr Ian Prior formed the basis for the questions used in this study. RESULTS: The sample size was 120. Response rate 82.2%. Samoans were the main ethnic group at 62% and women the dominant gender at 75%. Mean age was 46%. Eighty eight percent presented with symptoms at diagnosis and 64% had diabetes of 5 years standing or more. Seventy eight percent were on diet and/or tablets and 73% reported having complications of which visual impairment was the most common. Twenty four percent were not happy with the current service. Fifty nine percent knew little or nothing about diabetes and 78% expressed a desire to know more. Good control was reported by 59%, and 66% reported they followed a diet. Forty five percent admitted having an overweight problem and 57% reported losing weight since diabetes diagnosed. Forty five percent knew how to test their blood sugar and 26% tested at home. Eighty nine percent favoured a specific service for Pacific Islands people with education being the major emphasis. More than a third preferred service to be near home and run by Pacific Islands health professionals. CONCLUSION: The majority of Pacific Islands people developed symptoms before going to see a doctor. It indicated that the majority have suffered from diabetes for a long time before seeking medical care for the first time. Most indicated being happy with the services they are receiving from their family doctors but if given a choice they would prefer a service specifically for themselves. Diabetes education as well as a treatment clinic were services most favoured with the preference close to home and to be delivered by Pacific Islands health professionals.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Modernisation, migration and nutritional health of Pacific Island populations.

The emergence of obesity and fatness across the second part of the 20th century has been documented for a number of Pacific Island populations. While dietary change and reduced physical activity levels associated with economic modernisation have been identified as the key factors fuelling the emergence of obesity, it is argued here that increasing numbers of Pacific Island migrants in the United States, New Zealand, France and Australia have provided the basis for the acceleration of the modernisation process by way of remittances, and the transmission of ideas of economic opportunity and change. Potential for migration for the Pacific Island nations is estimated from available data on population growth, total fertility rates and total mortality rates. Pacific Islander migrants form approximately one quarter of the total global Pacific Islander population, the majority of whom are from Tonga, Fiji, French Polynesia, and the Federated States of Micronesia. Per capita energy and fats and meat intake for the period 1961 to 2000 is described for five Pacific Island nations, showing that, in general, energy intakes have increased, as have the energy densities of the diets consumed. Thus the increase in mean body mass index observed in Pacific Islanders in the second half of the twentieth century can in general be attributed to dietary change associated with greater food and energy intake, and with increased consumption of fatty foods and meat, most of which are imports.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1996

Body mass index and cardiovascular risk factors in Pacific Island Polynesians and Europeans in New Zealand.

OBJECTIVES: To examine relationships between body mass index (BMI) and cardiovascular risk factors in 279 Europeans and 231 Polynesian Pacific Islanders in New Zealand. METHODS: Participants were recruited from Seventh-Day Adventist church meetings or camps, and were surveyed by self-administered questionnaire. Blood pressure, weight and height were measured. Fasting blood samples were analysed for lipids, glucose and fructosamine. RESULTS: Age-adjusted BMI was higher in Pacific Islanders than in Europeans: 32.8(0.3) versus 25.6(0.3); means(SE); p = 0.0001). In Europeans, BMI was positively associated with systolic and diastolic blood pressures, triglycerides, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and fasting blood glucose, and negatively associated with HDL cholesterol. In Pacific Islanders, BMI was associated only with systolic and diastolic blood pressures, and with HDL cholesterol. These associations were stronger in Europeans than in Pacific Islanders. CONCLUSIONS: In this group of Pacific Islanders, the association between BMI and cardiovascular risk factors was weaker than in Europeans. This suggests that either BMI is a poor measure of adiposity in Pacific Islanders, or that adiposity may be less strongly linked to cardiovascular disease in Pacific Islanders.

Adult↗