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Asian Ancestry (asian + ancestry)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Life Sciences	50%

Selected Abstracts

Unsuitable Suitors: Anti-Miscegenation Laws, Naturalization Laws, and the Construction of Asian Identities

LAW & SOCIETY REVIEW, Issue 3 2007
Deenesh Sohoni
In this article, I use state-level anti-miscegenation legislation to examine how Asian ethnic groups became categorized within the American racial system in the period between the Civil War and the civil rights movement of the 1960s. I show how the labels used to describe Asian ethnic groups at the state level reflected and were constrained by national-level debates regarding the groups eligible for U.S. citizenship. My main point is that Asian ethnic groups originally were viewed as legally distinct,racially and ethnically, and that members of these groups recognized and used these distinctions to seek social rights and privileges. The construction of "Asian" as a social category resulted primarily from congressional legislation and judicial rulings that linked immigration with naturalization regulations. Anti-miscegenation laws further contributed to the social exclusion of those of Asian ancestry by grouping together U.S.-born and foreign-born Asians. [source]

Effects of ethnicity and socioeconomic status on body composition in an admixed, multiethnic population in Hawaii

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY, Issue 3 2009
Daniel E. Brown
This study determined ethnic differences in anthropometric measures of a sample of adults in Hawaii, examining the effects of differing degrees of ethnic admixing and socioeconomic status (SES) on the measures. Adults who had attended elementary school in Hawaii underwent anthropometric measurements and answered questionnaires about their educational attainment, income, age, cultural identity, ethnic ancestry, and health. Individuals reporting Asian American cultural identity had significantly lower mean body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) than others, whereas those with Hawaiian/Pacific Islander cultural identity had significantly higher BMI and WC. Educational attainment, but not reported family income and age, was significantly related to BMI and WC, and differences in educational attainment accounted for the increased mean BMI and WC in Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders, but did not account for the lower mean BMI and WC among Asian Americans. Higher percentage of Asian ancestry was significantly correlated with lower BMI and WC, whereas higher percentage of Hawaiian/Pacific Islander ancestry was significantly correlated with increased BMI and WC. Differences in education accounted for the significantly increased BMI in participants with a higher percentage of Hawaiian/Pacific Islander ancestry, but did not entirely account for the lower BMI in individuals with a higher percentage of Asian American ancestry. These results suggest that the high rate of obesity and its sequelae seen in Pacific Islanders may be more a result of socioeconomic status and lifestyle than of genetic propensity, whereas the lower rates of obesity observed in Asian American populations are less directly influenced by socioeconomic factors. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Skin Responses to Ultraviolet Radiation: Effects of Constitutive Pigmentation, Sex, and Ancestry

PIGMENT CELL & MELANOMA RESEARCH, Issue 5 2002
Jennifer K. Wagner
Constitutive skin pigmentation and skin responses to ultraviolet radiation were measured on a sample of volunteers (n=250) living in State College, PA, USA. The sample was composed of individuals of European American (n=190), Hispanic (n=45), and East Asian ancestry (n=15). Constitutive pigmentation was measured using the Adjusted Melanin Index (AMI), Erythemal Dose Response (EDR) was measured using the slope of a* at 24 h (,a*), and Melanogenic Dose,Response (MDR) was measured using ,AM, the slope of AMI at 7 d. The relationships between constitutive skin pigmentation, EDR, MDR, sex, age, and ancestry were investigated. European Americans showed a lower constitutive pigmentation, had a significantly higher burn response (EDR), and had a significantly lower tanning response (MDR) than Hispanics and East Asians. No significant difference is seen between Hispanics and East Asians for either constitutive pigmentation or EDR. Constitutive pigmentation in females was slightly lower than in males in all three samples, but the difference was not significant. While no differences were observed in MDR between sexes, males had a stronger EDR than females regardless of population or constitutive pigmentation level, and this difference was significant in European Americans and Hispanics. We observed no age-related differences in any of the populations or measures investigated. We evaluated the relationship between constitutive pigmentation, EDR and MDR. There was a strong inverse correlation between constitutive pigmentation and EDR in the three samples (European Americans, R2=0.176, P < 0.001; Hispanics, R2=0.204, P=0.009; East Asians, R2=0.223, P=0.098) and a strong direct correlation between constitutive pigmentation and MDR in European Americans and Hispanics (European Americans, R2=0.094, P < 0.001; Hispanics, R2=0.164, P=0.012). In other words, persons with lower constitutive pigmentation both burn more and tan less than persons with higher pigmentation. However, after controlling for constitutive pigmentation, EDR and MDR were significantly correlated in European Americans (R2=0.041 P=0.006). Thus, the general observation that persons who burn more tan less is probable because of the common link that these two phenotypes have with constitutive skin pigmentation and, in fact, once pigmentation has been adjusted for, there is a positive correlation between tanning response and burning response in European Americans. [source]

Risk factors for breast cancer in East Asian women relative to women in the West

ASIA-PACIFIC JOURNAL OF CLINICAL ONCOLOGY, Issue 4 2009
Christine S PERRY
Abstract The incidence of breast cancer in women of East Asian ancestry (Chinese, Japanese and Korean) is lower than in women of European ancestry but is currently rising. This review explores potential reasons for this inter-ethnic difference in incidence by profiling breast cancer risk factors reported for East Asian and Western women. Factors such as endogenous hormone exposure, lifestyle choices, diet and genetic predisposition are associated with breast cancer risk in both East Asian and Western women. However, the relative exposure to these risk factors may vary according to a woman's geographical ancestry and culture. For example, age at menarche and menopause, parity, breast-feeding history, low fat and high soy consumption as well as the prevalence of high risk genetic alleles may vary with a woman's geographical ancestry and/or culture. Differences in exposure to these risk factors in East Asian and Western women are consistent with the inter-ethnic differences in breast cancer incidence observed. Understanding the underlying factors contributing to differences in the profile of breast cancer across populations is important when considering screening and prevention programs for East Asian women resident in the East or the West. [source]