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Previous studies have shown markedly lower birth weight among infants of South Asian origin compared with those of White European origin. Whether such differences mask greater adiposity in South Asian infants and whether they persist across generations in contemporary UK populations is unclear. Our aim was to compare birth weight, skinfold thickness and cord leptin between Pakistani and White British infants and to investigate the explanatory factors, including parental and grandparental birthplace. METHODS: We examined the differences in birth weight and skinfold thickness between 4649 Pakistani and 4055 White British infants born at term in the same UK maternity unit and compared cord leptin in a subgroup of 775 Pakistani and 612 White British infants. RESULTS: Pakistani infants were lighter (adjusted mean difference -234 g 95% CI -258 to -210) and were smaller in both subscapular and triceps skinfold measurements. The differences for subscapular and triceps skinfold thickness (mean z-score difference -0.27 95% CI -0.34 to -0.20 and -0.23 95% CI -0.30 to -0.16, respectively) were smaller than the difference in birth weight (mean z-score difference -0.52 95% CI -0.58 to -0.47) and attenuated to the null with adjustment for birth weight (0.03 95% CI -0.03 to 0.09 and -0.01 95% CI -0.08 to 0.05, respectively). Cord leptin concentration (indicator of fat mass) was similar in Pakistani and White British infants without adjustment for birth weight, but with adjustment became 30% higher (95% CI 17% to 44%) among Pakistani infants compared with White British infants. The magnitudes of difference did not differ by generation. CONCLUSIONS: Despite being markedly lighter, Pakistani infants had similar skinfold thicknesses and greater total fat mass, as indicated by cord leptin, for a given birth weight than White British infants. Any efforts to reduce ethnic inequalities in birth weight need to consider differences in adiposity and the possibility that increasing birth weight in South Asian infants might inadvertently worsen health by increasing relative adiposity.

<p dir="ltr">Violent death that violates the ontological dignity of the body and the disappeared corpse often results in a crisis of mourning for those left behind, with the matter made all the more complicated when it comes to instances of politically motivated violence in the context of war. What follows such death/disappearance are issues of identification, collection of remains and, ultimately, an inability to enact necessary death rituals such as washing, shrouding and burial, leading to a separation between the dislocated soul and the corporeal form on part of the dead and the issue of incomplete mourning on part of the bereaved. Both the living and the dead, thus, come to occupy a liminal space (<i>barzakh</i>) where the boundaries between past/present, human/non-human, and dead/alive fall away. This paper argues that this in-between state helps the mourner gain access to a radical state of bearing witness outside of the oppressive binaries of the modern world. This work makes use of Middle Eastern (Iraq, Palestine, Egypt) and South Asian (Kashmir) literatures dealing with dehumanization and violent death in the context of what Achille Mbembe refers to as “death-worlds,” inhabitants of which are deemed “living-dead.”</p>

No / Vitamin D deficiency is thought to impair insulin action and glucose metabolism; however, previous studies have not examined ethnic differences or the influence of calcium and parathyroid hormone. We investigated this in a cohort of predominantly white European and south Asian women during pregnancy. Methods: In this cross-sectional study from an urban population in northern England (53.8°N), 1467 women were recruited when undergoing glucose tolerance testing (75 g oral glucose tolerance test) at 26 weeks' gestation. Results: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) was diagnosed in 137 women (9.3%). Median 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration for the study population was 9.3 ng/mL (interquartile range 5.2, 16.9) and was higher in European [15.2 ng/mL (10.7, 23.5)] than in south Asian women [5.9 ng/mL (3.9, 9.4), P < .001]. After appropriate adjustment for confounders, 25-hydroxyvitamin D showed a weak inverse association with fasting plasma glucose (FPG; mean difference 1.0% per 1 SD; the ratio of geometric means (RGM) 0.99, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.98, 1.00), and PTH was weakly associated with FPG (RGM 1.01, 95% CI 1.00, 1.02), but neither was associated with fasting insulin, postchallenge glucose, or GDM. Serum calcium (albumin adjusted) was strongly associated with fasting insulin (RGM 1.06; 95% CI 1.03, 1.08), postchallenge glucose (RGM 1.03, 95% CI 1.01, 1.04), and GDM (odds ratio 1.33, 95% CI 1.06, 1.66) but not with FPG. Associations were similar in European and south Asian women. Conclusions: These findings do not indicate any important association between vitamin D status and glucose tolerance in pregnancy. Relationships between circulating calcium and glucose metabolism warrant further investigation.

Yes / UK South Asian women are less likely to engage with cancer screening than the general population and present later with more advanced disease. Tailored interventions are needed to address barriers to these women accessing screening services. 'Wise up to cancer' is a community-based health intervention designed to increase cancer screening uptake. It has been implemented within the general population and a study was undertaken to implement it within a South Asian female community. This paper explores one workstream of the wider 'Wise up to Cancer' study which involved working out how best to adapt the baseline questionnaire (the first part of the intervention) for South Asian women in an inner-city location in Northern England. The aim of this workstream was to evaluate what worked well when implementing the adapted 'Wise up to Cancer' with South Asian women. In 2018, we conducted qualitative semi-structured interviews and focus group with 14 key stakeholders; women who had received the intervention, health champions and community workers to explore their perspectives on how the adapted intervention worked within a South Asian female community. The interviews were audio recorded or (notes taken), data were transcribed verbatim and the dataset was thematically analysed. We found that training peers as community health champions to deliver the intervention to address language and cultural barriers increased participant engagement, was beneficial for the peers and supported participants who revealed difficult social issues they may not have otherwise discussed. Accessing women in established community groups, following planned activities such as English language classes worked but flexibility was needed to meet individual women's needs. Further research is needed to explore the impact of adapting 'Wise up to Cancer' for this community in terms of engaging with cancer screening. / Tampon Tax, The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Gov UK (Grant number A1967)