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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1979

Adipose tissue cellularity in obese nondiabetic men in an urbanized Pacific island (Polynesian) population.

In a Pacific island (Polynesian) population exposed to Westernized food-stuffs and sedentary life during adulthood, the fat cell size in the gluteal region in obese men was 71% higher than in age-matched nonobese controls. Rough estimations of body fat from anthropometric measurements suggest that the obesity of these men were mainly due to fat cell enlargement. Increased blood glucose and plasma lipids were associated with the obesity.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed2025

Population genomics of Aedes albopictus across remote Pacific islands for genetic biocontrol considerations.

Remote Pacific islands (RPI) are characterized by ecological isolation, diverse endemic species, and vulnerability to invasive organisms due to globalization-driven connectivity. Among these species, Aedes albopictus, a highly invasive vector of flaviviruses, has spread extensively across the RPI via human-mediated dispersal, posing significant health and economic burdens. While the population structure and the degree of gene flow between mosquito populations can inform the dispersal pathways critical for disease vector management, the population genetics of Ae. albopictus in Northern RPI remains understudied. The present work investigated the population structure and connectivity of Ae. albopictus populations from Guam, Hawaiian Islands, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) to inform disease and vector-based biosecurity risks and develop targeted management strategies. This is the first assessment to develop and analyze whole genome sequences of Ae. albopictus for RPI, enabling more accurate estimates of differentiation, admixture, and ancestry. We found distinct genetic clustering between regions, distinct ancestry of populations across RPI, and potential invasions that originated from Hawaii and spread into the RMI, and invasions from North America that spread to Guam. These findings can inform biosecurity protocols to limit the invasion of Ae. albopictus and their associated diseases within Hawaii and around the Pacific. Given the significant degree of genetic differentiation, we found between islets, islands, and regions, the genome data from this study can be used to enable the development of locally confined geographically isolated gene drives. These drives may be used to prevent and control outbreaks of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika, diseases that have had devastating consequences in these remote island communities.

Animals↗
PubMed2026

Cancer statistics for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander people, 2026.

BACKGROUND: Cancer statistics for Asian American and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) people are usually aggregated, masking substantial variation within this heterogeneous population. Herein, the American Cancer Society reports cancer incidence and survival for 8 Asian American and 3 NHPI ethnic groups. METHODS: The authors used population-based cancer registry data from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program, for Asian American and NHPI ethnic groups from 2000 through 2022. RESULTS: During 2018-2022, overall cancer incidence ranged from 218.3 per 100,000 Kampuchean people to 474.5 per 100,000 Native Hawaiian people, which was 1.5 times higher than the rate for the aggregated Asian American and NHPI population (307.3 per 100,000). High incidence among Native Hawaiian people is largely driven by the highest rates of female breast, colorectal, and prostate cancers, whereas infection-related cancers were highest among Asian American ethnic groups. For example, liver and stomach cancer incidence is highest among Vietnamese (22.2 per 100,000) and Korean people (17.8 per 100,000), respectively, both of which were nearly twice that in Native Hawaiian people (12.9 and 9.6 per 100,000, respectively). Native Hawaiian and Samoan women are twice and 3 times as likely, respectively, to be diagnosed with uterine corpus cancer as aggregated Asian American and NHPI women or White women. Five-year relative survival ranges from 42% in Laotians to 74% in Asian Indians/Pakistanis, with largest differences for colorectal (43% in Laotians to 72% in Asian Indians/Pakistanis) and prostate (63% in Kampucheans to 97% in Japanese) cancers. CONCLUSIONS: Wide variation in cancer risk within the Asian American and NHPI population highlights the critical need for disaggregated data to effectively target cancer prevention and control interventions.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Industrial hand injuries in Pacific Island immigrants.

There is a disturbingly high incidence of heavy machinery, industrial hand mutilation, involving recent Pacific Island immigrants many of whom have a poor comprehension of English. A survey of cases admitted to the Hutt Hospital during eight monts of 1973, showed a proportionately greater incidence of severe injuries amongst these immigrants, and indicates that one causative factor is unsuitable selection of works for this dangerous machinery, coupled with inadequate instruction in its use and safety precautions.

Accidents, Occupational↗
PubMed1977

The high prevalence of diabetes mellitus on a Central Pacific Island.

A diabetes prevalence study on an isolated urbanized Central Pacific Island has established a prevalence rate of 34.4% in individuals aged 15 years and over. Of these, 10.4% had previously known diabetes; in the others the diagnosis was made on the basis of a plasma glucose level of at least 160 mg/100 ml 2h after a 75 gm oral glucose load. A further 11.3% of the subjects had borderline diabetes as judged by a 2-h plasma glucose of between 140 and 159 mg/100 ml. Of the diabetics, 72% had a positive family history of diabetes. The high prevalence rate appears to be related to a number of factors including a diabetic genotype, urbanization, and obesity.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

A seroepidemiologic study of infection with HAV and HBV in five Pacific Islands.

A batch of 1025 serum samples, obtained from healthy subjects and hospital patients from five Pacific islands (Viti Levu, Funafuti, Niue, Rarotonga and Upolu) were tested for antibody to hepatitis A virus (anti-HAV), hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAG) and antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs) by solid phase radioimmunoassay (SPRIA). High frequencies of anti-HAV were observed in each population (Funafuti, 79.9%; Upolu, 81.6%; Viti Levu, 84.3%; Rarotonga, 95.0%; and Niue, 95.2%), and the age-specific prevalence suggested that the majority of infections with this virus had occurred in the first decade of life. Hepatitis B was endemic in each population, although the total infection rates (as measured by the sum of HBsAG and anti-Hbs frequencies) were lower than for hepatitis A. While infections with each virus tended to run in parallel, peak prevalence of anti-HAV was usually reached in the second decade of life and peak prevalence of HBsAg and anti-HBs was not attained until a decade later. The pattern of infection with HBV was similar in each of the groups studied with the exception of Indians living in Viti Levu, among whom unusually low levels of antigen and antibody were demonstrated.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2026

Citizenship Status and Contraceptive Method Use Among Latinx, Asian and Pacific Islander (API) Women in California.

Citizenship status confers rights and access to healthcare, yet little is known about how it impacts contraception use and type of method use. This study examined the role of citizenship status on contraceptive use among reproductive-aged (18-44 years), cis-gender Latinx and Asian and Pacific Islander (API) women. This study used the 2017-2020 waves of the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS). Inclusion criteria included cisgender, heterosexual Latinx and API women of reproductive age (18-44 years) who were at risk of becoming pregnant (N = 3,027). Participants were classified into the following categories based on their citizenship status: non-citizens without a green card, legal permanent residents (LPRs), naturalized citizens, and U.S.-born citizens. We conducted bivariate analyses using Pearson's chi-square tests and multivariable analyses using adjusted binomial logistic regressions to assess associations between citizenship status and use of any modern and reversible method of contraception and type of method used. Models were stratified by race/ethnicity. All analyses were weighted. Three-quarters (75.8%) of the sample were Latinx, 57.5% were U.S.-born citizens, 16.3% were naturalized citizens, 10.6% were LPRs, and 15.7% were non-citizens without a green card. There were no significant differences in the type of contraception method use by citizenship status among Latinx. Among API, naturalized citizens had lower odds of any use and condom use and naturalized citizens and U.S.-born citizens had higher odds of using pill or other hormonal methods and IUD or implant compared to non-citizens without a green card. This study makes important contributions in understanding the role of citizenship status as a social determinant of reproductive health for Latinx and API in California.

Citizenship status↗
PubMed1976

Communicable disease in the South Pacific Islands, 1.

An outline is given of the pattern of communicable disease in the South Pacific, as far as it is known. Surveillance and research are imcomplete and the World Health Organization is assisting in carrying these out. Reporting and laboratory diagnosis of communicable disease are inadequate and sometimes inaccurate. This is being improved. Medical checks for intending migrants from the South Pacific are, in a number of cases, inadequately performed in the country of origin and this situation should be altered. The risks to surrounding developed countries from migrants, temporary workers and returning travellers are not tremendous but they cannot be neglected and vigilance has to be maintained. Tuberculosis importation does present risks, as does that of typhoid. Malaria importation carries risks for Northern Australia. Leprosy poses little real risk to Australia or New Zealand and neither does filariasis. Cholera would have to be watched for closely should there ever be a South Pacific outbreak, but the developed countries around the South Pacific which are cholera-non-receptive can control occasional cases. Other than malaria, tuberculosis, typhoid and possibly dengue, problems are thus mainly in the diagnosis and treatment of individuals.

Bacterial Infections↗
PubMed1978

Ventilatory lung function studies in Pacific Island Micronesians.

In the first study of ventilatory lung function in people of the Micronesian race, observations in 182 normal subjects (117 males and 65 females) between the ages of 15 and 80 years were used to calculate regression equations for FVC, FEV1, and FEV1%. Mean values of FVC and FEV1 were found to be lower than those reported for Caucasians and Polynesians, but similar to Melanesians, Negroes and Chinese. Values of FEV1% were comparable among all races. The three Oceanic races showed a smaller reduction of FVC and a larger reduction of FEV1% with increasing age than did Caucasians. Although the biological significance of this variability of ventilatory function in different races is uncertain, the definition of racial norms is already proving useful in studies of pulmonary airway disease among Oceanic peoples.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2026

The Soifua Manuia reference panel with 2,570 Samoan haplotypes improves genotype imputation quality among Samoans.

Genotype imputation is fundamental to association studies, and yet even gold standard panels like TOPMed are limited in the populations for which they yield good imputation. Specifically, Pacific Islanders are poorly represented in extant panels. To address this, we used whole-genome sequencing from 1,285 Samoan individuals combined with 1000 Genomes Project (1KGP) individuals to construct an imputation reference panel that better represents Pacific Islander, specifically Samoan, genetic variation. Here we show that this panel yielded up to two times more well-imputed (r2 ≥ 0.80) variants than TOPMed-R3 and 1KGP and was enriched for moderate and high impact variants. There was improved imputation accuracy across the minor allele frequency (MAF) spectrum; accuracy (r2) was greater for population-specific variants (high fixation index, FST) and those from larger haplotypes (high LD score). However, the gain in accuracy over TOPMed-R3 was largest for small haplotypes, reflecting the Samoan panel's ability to capture variation not well tagged by other panels.

Haplotypes↗
PubMed1977

An Auckland high school health survey.

To assess the importance of racial and socio-economic factors on the health of teenagers attending an Auckland High School a full clinical examination was conducted. The socio-economic status of the four major racial groups, European, Maori, Pacific Island Polynesian and Asian was relatively constant and predominantly from Social Classes 4 and 5. The pattern of health in each group was not significantly different between races with the exception of a high incidence of scabies and impetigo among the Maori and Pacific Island Polynesians. These skin infections were possibly related to a significant degree of overcrowding that was found in this group where 21 to 29% of the families had five or more children under 15 years of age in the one house. Dental caries was commoner among Maori teenagers. These findings are in accord with the hypothesis that health differences between races are a reflection of socio-economic factors rather than due to any intrinsic differences in susceptibility to disease.

Adolescent↗