The Book of Sand | ScienceGate

IntroductionWe compared diabetes incidence in South Asians aged ≥45 years in urban India (Chennai and Delhi) and Pakistan (Karachi), two low-income and middle-income countries undergoing rapid transition, with blacks and whites in the US, a high-income country.Research design and methodsWe computed age-specific, sex-specific and body mass index (BMI)-specific diabetes incidence from the prospective Center for Cardiometabolic Risk Reduction in South Asia Study (n=3136) and the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study (blacks, n=3059; whites, n=9924). We assessed factors associated with incident diabetes using Cox proportional hazards regression.ResultsSouth Asians have lower BMI and waist circumference than blacks and whites (median BMI, kg/m2: 24.9 vs 28.2 vs 26.0; median waist circumference, cm 87.5 vs 96.0 vs 95.0). South Asians were less insulin resistant than blacks and whites (age-BMI-adjusted homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance, µIU/mL/mmol/L: 2.30 vs 3.45 vs 2.59), and more insulin deficient than blacks but not whites (age-BMI-adjusted homeostasis model assessment of β-cell dysfunction, µIU/mL/mmol/L: 103.7 vs 140.6 vs 103.9). Age-standardized diabetes incidence (cases/1000 person-years (95% CI)) in South Asian men was similar to black men and 1.6 times higher (1.37 to 1.92) than white men (26.0 (22.2 to 29.8) vs 26.2 (22.7 to 29.7) vs 16.1 (14.8 to 17.4)). In South Asian women, incidence was slightly higher than black women and 3 times (2.61 to 3.66) the rate in white women (31.9 (27.5 to 36.2) vs 28.6 (25.7 to 31.6) vs 11.3 (10.2 to 12.3)). In normal weight (BMI <25 kg/m2), diabetes incidence adjusted for age was 2.9 times higher (2.09 to 4.28) in South Asian men, and 5.3 times (3.64 to 7.54) in South Asian women than in white women.ConclusionsSouth Asian adults have lower BMI and are less insulin resistant than US blacks and whites, but have higher diabetes incidence than US whites, especially in subgroups without obesity. Factors other than insulin resistance (ie, insulin secretion) may play an important role in the natural history of diabetes in South Asians.

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The Impact Of South Asian Cultural Violence

10.32920/16635856 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Riti Dass

Keyword(s):

South Asian ◽

Second Generation ◽

South Asians ◽

Asian Women ◽

South Asian Women ◽

Asian Culture ◽

Cultural Violence ◽

Asian Men ◽

Narrative Methodology ◽

The Impact

<div>This study explores the experiences and perspectives of first/second generation South Asian Canadian women on the representation of South Asian culture and violence against South Asian women. Specifically, this study looks at the myth of South Asian cultural violence, which views South Asian culture as inherently oppressive toward women and South Asian men as violent; and as a result, South Asian women are seen as victims of these men and their culture.</div><div>This study does not undermine violence against South Asian women, but challenges the ways in which violence against South Asian women gets talked about through the myth or the discourse of South Asian cultural violence. Both the state and (trans)national media play an important role in circulating this myth to further socio-political agendas. Centering the narratives of South Asian women in this study will show the ways in which they make meaning of the myth, as well as how they challenge and resist it. This study involves a focus group with two first/second generation South Asian Canadian women using arts-informed narrative methodology. Findings demonstrate that the discourse of South Asian cultural violence has had a significant impact on their relationship to themselves, other South Asians, and to the South Asian culture due to the ongoing encounter with stories of violence against South Asian women. </div>

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The Impact Of South Asian Cultural Violence

10.32920/16635856.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Riti Dass

Keyword(s):

South Asian ◽

Second Generation ◽

South Asians ◽

Asian Women ◽

South Asian Women ◽

Asian Culture ◽

Cultural Violence ◽

Asian Men ◽

Narrative Methodology ◽

The Impact

<div>This study explores the experiences and perspectives of first/second generation South Asian Canadian women on the representation of South Asian culture and violence against South Asian women. Specifically, this study looks at the myth of South Asian cultural violence, which views South Asian culture as inherently oppressive toward women and South Asian men as violent; and as a result, South Asian women are seen as victims of these men and their culture.</div><div>This study does not undermine violence against South Asian women, but challenges the ways in which violence against South Asian women gets talked about through the myth or the discourse of South Asian cultural violence. Both the state and (trans)national media play an important role in circulating this myth to further socio-political agendas. Centering the narratives of South Asian women in this study will show the ways in which they make meaning of the myth, as well as how they challenge and resist it. This study involves a focus group with two first/second generation South Asian Canadian women using arts-informed narrative methodology. Findings demonstrate that the discourse of South Asian cultural violence has had a significant impact on their relationship to themselves, other South Asians, and to the South Asian culture due to the ongoing encounter with stories of violence against South Asian women. </div>

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Abstract P319: Comparing Coronary Artery Calcium among U.S. South Asians with Four Racial/Ethnic Groups: The MASALA and MESA Studies

Circulation ◽

10.1161/circ.129.suppl_1.p319 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 129 (suppl_1) ◽

Author(s):

Alka M Kanaya ◽

Namratha R Kandula ◽

David Herrington ◽

Kiang Liu ◽

Michael J Blaha ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Coronary Artery ◽

Ethnic Groups ◽

South Asian ◽

Coronary Artery Calcium ◽

South Asians ◽

Chinese Americans ◽

Asian Women ◽

South Asian Women ◽

Asian Men ◽

Racial Ethnic

Background: South Asians (individuals from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka) have high rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD) which cannot be fully explained by traditional risk factors. We created a community-based cohort of South Asians (MASALA) and compared the prevalence of coronary artery calcium (CAC) to four racial/ethnic groups in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). Methods: We compared 803 South Asians to the four racial/ethnic groups (2,622 Whites, 1,893 African Americans, 1,496 Latinos and 803 Chinese Americans), all free of CVD. We created pooled multivariate Poisson models to examine the effect of race/ethnicity with CAC after adjusting for sex, age, clinical site, education, smoking, BMI, diabetes, hypertension, HDL-, LDL-cholesterol, and cholesterol lowering medication use. Results: The age-adjusted prevalence of any CAC was similar between White and South Asian men (68%), but was lower in Latino (58%), Chinese American (58%) and African American men (51%). South Asian women had similar CAC prevalence as other ethnic minority women but significantly lower than White women (37% vs. 43%, p<0.05). The figure shows the mean CAC scores among each of the five racial/ethnic groups by 5-year increments in age. After adjusting for all covariates, South Asian men were similar to White men and had higher CAC scores compared to African Americans, Latinos and Chinese Americans. In fully adjusted models, CAC scores were similar for South Asian women compared to all MESA groups. However, South Asian women ≥70 years had a higher prevalence of any CAC than all other racial/ethnic groups. Conclusions: South Asian men are more similar to Whites than the other race/ethnic groups in MESA. The high burden of subclinical atherosclerosis in South Asians may partly explain higher rates of CVD in South Asians. Follow-up data from the MASALA study will determine whether CAC is associated with incident CVD among South Asians and if this relationship differs from that observed in other racial/ethnic groups.

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Linkage between Neighborhood Social Cohesion and BMI of South Asians in the Masala Study

Journal of Obesity ◽

10.1155/2020/7937530 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2020 ◽

pp. 1-7 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Gagandeep Gill ◽

Nicola Lancki ◽

Manjit Randhawa ◽

Semran K. Mann ◽

Adam Arechiga ◽

...

Keyword(s):

San Francisco ◽

South Asian ◽

Social Cohesion ◽

South Asians ◽

The United States ◽

Neighborhood Environment ◽

Linear Regression Models ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Neighborhood Social Cohesion ◽

Asian Men

Introduction. South Asians in the United States have a high prevalence of obesity and an elevated risk for cardiometabolic diseases. Yet, little is known about how aspects of neighborhood environment influence cardiometabolic risk factors such as body mass index (BMI) in this rapidly growing population. We aimed to investigate the association between perceived neighborhood social cohesion and BMI among South Asians. Methods. We utilized cross-sectional data from the MASALA study, a prospective community-based cohort of 906 South Asian men and women from the San Francisco Bay area and the greater Chicago area. Multivariable linear regression models, stratified by sex, were used to examine the association between perceived level of neighborhood social cohesion and individual BMI after adjusting for sociodemographics. Results. Participants were 54% male, with an average age of 55 years, 88% had at least a bachelor’s degree, and the average BMI was 26.0 kg/m2. South Asian women living in neighborhoods with the lowest social cohesion had a significantly higher BMI than women living in neighborhoods with the highest cohesion (β coefficient = 1.48, 95% CI 0.46–2.51, p=0.02); however, the association was not statistically significant after adjusting for sociodemographic factors (β coefficient = 1.06, 95% CI −0.01–2.13, p=0.05). There was no association between level of neighborhood social cohesion and BMI in South Asian men. Conclusion. Perceived neighborhood social cohesion was not significantly associated with BMI among South Asians in our study sample. Further research is recommended to explore whether other neighborhood characteristics may be associated with BMI and other health outcomes in South Asians and the mechanisms through which neighborhood may influence health.

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Abstract P126: Comparing Cardiovascular Risk Factor Progression Between South Asian Men and Women With Diabetes: A Longitudinal Analysis From the Masala Study

Circulation ◽

10.1161/circ.141.suppl_1.p126 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 141 (Suppl_1) ◽

Author(s):

Manasi Deshpandey ◽

Chiung-Yu Huang ◽

Namratha Kandula ◽

Alka M Kanaya

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Blood Pressure ◽

South Asian ◽

Ldl Cholesterol ◽

South Asians ◽

Cvd Risk Factors ◽

Cvd Risk ◽

Men And Women ◽

Asian Men

Introduction: South Asians have a high incidence of type 2 diabetes(DM) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Women with DM may have greater CVD risk compared to men with DM and women without DM. No study has determined whether the incidence or progression of coronary artery calcium (CAC) score, a measure of atherosclerosis burden, differs between South Asian men and women with DM. Hypothesis: We hypothesize that CAC progression is greater in women with DM as compared to men with DM and women without DM. Methods: We used the data from the MASALA study, a community-based prospective cohort of South Asians from 2 clinical sites without CVD at baseline. We conducted a longitudinal analysis of diabetic participants who were reassessed after 5 years and compared with those without diabetes. We classified incident CAC as any CAC at exam 2 in a participant who had no CAC at baseline. To examine the progression of CVD risk factors over time, we compared change in CAC score, waist circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, HbA1c and lipid levels amongst the diabetic and non-diabetic population by sex. We conducted multivariable linear regression models stratified by diabetes status to determine whether sex was independently associated with change in CAC score and other CVD risk factors. Results: Of 749 participants who were seen in follow-up, 176 (23%) had diabetes at baseline, 65% were men, and mean age was 58 years. Approximately 64% women with DM vs. 28% men with DM had CAC=0, and men had higher median CAC score (49 (IQR 0-247) vs. 0 (IQR 0-46, p<0.001). After mean follow-up of 4.8±0.8 years, incident CAC did not differ between men and women with diabetes (p=0.85). Progression of CAC was greater in men with DM (94, IQR 13-290) compared to women with DM (0, IQR 0-30) (p <0.001). Baseline statin and aspirin use was lower in women with DM (statins: 37% in women vs. 56% in men, p<0.001; aspirin 16% in women vs. 43% in men, p<0.001). In multivariable models, the fold-change in CAC in women (0.22, 95% CI 0.10 - 0.47) was lower than in men (4.54, 95% CI 2.08 - 9.89) and comparable to women without DM (0.30 95%CI 0.21 -0.43), after adjusting for age, baseline CAC, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, total and LDL cholesterol, duration of diabetes, smoking and any medication use (statin, diabetes, or hypertension med). Sex was not associated with change in any CVD risk factor among those with diabetes; but women without DM had greater change in total and LDL cholesterol and waist circumference than men without DM. Conclusion: In this South Asian population, change in CAC score was lower in women with DM than in men with DM, and was comparable to women without DM. These results suggest among South Asians with DM, overall CVD risk may be greater in men than in women.Continued follow-up of the MASALA cohort will determine whether there are sex differences in CVD outcomes.

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Abstract MP079: Coronary Artery Calcium Incidence and Progression Among South Asians: Results From the MASALA Study

Circulation ◽

10.1161/circ.135.suppl_1.mp079 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 135 (suppl_1) ◽

Author(s):

Alka M Kanaya ◽

Namratha Kandula ◽

David Herrington ◽

Kiang Liu ◽

Matthew Budoff

Keyword(s):

Cardiovascular Disease ◽

Coronary Artery ◽

Ethnic Groups ◽

South Asian ◽

Coronary Artery Calcium ◽

South Asians ◽

Agatston Score ◽

Visceral Fat Area ◽

Asian Men

Background: South Asians have a high burden of cardiovascular disease. We have reported that South Asians have similarly high prevalence of coronary artery calcium (CAC) compared to non-Hispanic Whites, and higher CAC than other U.S. ethnic minority groups. No studies have determined the incidence or progression of CAC among South Asians. Methods: We used data from a community-based cohort of South Asians (MASALA) and calculated change in CAC Agatston score between Exam 1 (2010-2013) and Exam 2 (2015-2016) among 379 South Asians. We calculated the average annual incident CAC for those with no CAC at Exam 1, and CAC progression among those with CAC at Exam 1. We compared these findings to the previously reported CAC incidence and progression in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). We also determined factors associated with a ≥100 change in CAC score. Results: We used data from 240 men and 139 women with repeat CAC measured after 4.5±0.7 years of follow-up. Among those with no detectable CAC at baseline, 6.8% developed incident CAC annually (9.2% of men and 4.4% of women), which was similar to MESA race/ethnic groups. Among those with known CAC at baseline, the median annual CAC progression was 23 (interquartile range, 8-56). The table shows the distribution of annual CAC progression. South Asians overall, but particularly South Asian men, had significantly higher annual CAC progression compared to the reported average in MESA (overall median 18, 4-53). Established risk factors (age, male sex, diabetes and hypertension), pericardial fat volume and visceral fat area were associated with greater CAC progression. Conclusions: These preliminary results suggest that South Asian men have significantly greater CAC progression compared to other race/ethnic groups. Longer follow-up of MASALA will determine whether CAC score or CAC progression are important predictors of cardiovascular disease events.

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Neighborhood Walkability and Walking for Transport Among South Asians in the MASALA Study

Journal of Physical Activity and Health ◽

10.1123/jpah.2015-0266 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 13 (5) ◽

pp. 514-519 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Elizabeth A. Kelley ◽

Namratha R. Kandula ◽

Alka M. Kanaya ◽

Irene H. Yen

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

South Asian ◽

Asian American ◽

South Asians ◽

The United States ◽

Men And Women ◽

South Asian American ◽

Neighborhood Walkability ◽

Asian Men ◽

Walk Score

Background:The neighborhood built environment can have a strong influence on physical activity levels, particularly walking for transport. In examining racial/ethnic differences in physical activity, one important and understudied group is South Asians. This study aims to describe the association between neighborhood walkability and walking for transport among South Asian men and women in the United States in the Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America (MASALA) Study.Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2014 using the baseline dataset of the MASALA study (N = 906). Mean age was 55 years old and 54% of the sample was male. Weekly minutes spent walking for transport was assessed using a questionnaire adapted from the Cross-Cultural Activity Participation Study. Neighborhood walkability was measured using Walk Score, a composite index of walkability.Results:After adjusting for covariates, with each 10-point increase in Walk Score, South Asian American men engaged in 13 additional minutes per week of walking for transport (P = .008). No association was observed between walkability and walking for transport in South Asian American women.Conclusions:Results provide new evidence for how the effects of environmental influences on walking for transport may vary between South Asian men and women.

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Domestic Violence Victimization among South Asian Immigrant Men and Women in the United States

Journal of Interpersonal Violence ◽

10.1177/08862605211015262 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 088626052110152

Author(s):

Abha Rai ◽

Y. Joon Choi

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Domestic Violence ◽

South Asian ◽

South Asians ◽

The United States ◽

Asian Immigrant ◽

Men And Women ◽

Violence Victimization ◽

Immigrant Men ◽

South Asian Immigrant

Domestic violence is a pernicious social problem in the United States and a cause of national concern. The South Asian culture disempowers individuals experiencing domestic violence from recognizing and reporting victimization. Structural inequities may also discourage reporting victimization. These issues have led to inconsistent findings of domestic violence prevalence rates. Additionally, domestic violence studies with South Asians in the United States have predominantly focused on women, omitting men from this purview of research. The purpose of this study was to examine domestic violence victimization rates as well as their correlates among South Asian immigrant men and women. The sample for this cross-sectional study included 468 South Asians across the 50 U.S. states. Descriptive statistics were used to establish rates of domestic violence victimization. Hierarchical logistic regression was used to examine the correlates of domestic violence victimization. All of the sociodemographic information was added in step 1, and acculturation and gender-role attitudes were added as covariates in step 2. The most prevalent type of domestic violence victimization was physical violence (48%), followed by emotional (38%), economic (35%), verbal (27%), immigration-related (26%), in-laws related (19%), and ultimately sexual abuse (11%). Prevalence rates were higher for women than for men in each type of violence. According to the logistic regression results, education, generational position, family type, and employment were significant correlates of domestic violence victimization. Prior to development of prevention programs by community agencies, it is essential to understand the nature and prevalence of domestic violence experiences among South Asians. The victimization of men in addition to women adds to the novelty of this research study and paves the way for practitioners and scholars to engage in conversations about providing both male and female victims of domestic violence with the needed resources and support. The article will discuss implications for research, practice, and policy.

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