Naidu Jm

Blood pressure levels among cross-cultural populations of Visakhapatnam district, Andhra Pradesh, India.

Background : Elevated blood pressure is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality throughout the world, as a major contributor to cardiovascular diseases. Blood pressure tends to vary cross-culturally and studies to address the influence of acculturization/modernization on blood pressure are limited from India, particularly from Andhra Pradesh. Aim : To provide information on blood pressure levels and variability across population groups from the State of Andhra Pradesh, India, and to examine the influence of acculturization/modernization on blood pressure levels. Subjects and methods : The blood pressure levels among 1316 individuals (646 men and 670 women) belonging to two tribal (Khondh and Valmiki) and two caste groups (Wadabalija and Settibalija) from rural and urban areas from Andhra Pradesh were collected. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to examine the effect of age and sex, and population differences. Results : The distribution of blood pressure showed significant variability among these population groups. Higher levels of blood pressure were noticed in an acculturizing tribe, the Valmiki, than among the Khondh, a traditional tribal population. The results indicate that age had significant effect on both systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels. Also, the systolic blood pressure was relatively more sensitive than diastolic blood pressure to the effect of age. The sex did not contribute significantly to the variability of blood pressure. Conclusions : The study revealed significant population differences in the variability of blood pressure, with higher levels among acculturizing tribal population than the non-acculturizing group. But no significant variation was noticed between rural and urban slum dwellers. Age had a significant effect on blood pressure levels.

Group- and Sex-Specific Effects of Age, Body Composition and Pulse Rate on Blood Pressure Variability in Some Cross-Cultural Populations of Visakhapatnam District; South India

Background Hypertension is becoming a major public health problem in developing countries. Blood pressure tends to vary cross-culturally and is influenced by various factors including age, body composition and pulse rate. This paper reports the influence of age, body composition and pulse rate on blood pressure variability. Design The data were collected from 1316 individuals (646 men and 670 women) belonging to two tribes (Khondh and Valmiki) inhabiting hilly tribal area and two castes (Wadabalija and Settibalija) from both rural and urban areas from Visakhapatnam district, Andhra Pradesh, India. Results There are considerable ethnic differences in blood pressure and body composition variables. Age contributes significantly to the variance in blood pressure in these populations. However the influence of age is less pronounced in Khondh, a primitive/unacculturized tribe, while age exerts a profound effect on blood pressure variability in Valmiki, an acculturizing tribe. Further, the effect of age is more pronounced on systolic than on diastolic pressure and it contributes more to the blood pressure of women than men. The subcutaneous fatness measures (sum of three trunk skin fold thicknesses and sum of three extremities skin fold thicknesses) are significant predictors of both systolic and diastolic blood pressure in Khondh, Valmiki and Wadabalija, while body mass index (BMI) is an important predictor of both systolic and diastolic blood pressure in Settibalija. Pulse rate is often found to influence blood pressure of women. Conclusion The age-associated variability of blood pressure confirms the proposition that variability is high in adverse environment, when modernization/acculturization is taken to represent environmental adversity. Apart from the influence of age, body composition/adiposity contributes significantly to the blood pressure variability.

Asymmetry of finger ridge countsamong four tribal populations of Andhra Pradesh, India

The asymmetry among the four tribal populations Dulia, Kotia, Manne Dora and Manzai Mali is reported. The mean directional asymmetry (MDA) and mean absolute asymmetry (MAA) were measured for homologous fingers. The asymmetry follows a decreasing trend in radio-ulnar direction with higher mean values in thumb and index finger. The individual variation is also higher in these fingers. Neither sexual nor population differences are consistent. Jantzs Square root of A2 (another measure to assess asymmetry) for total finger ridge count and absolute finger ridge count does not indicate any significant sexual or ethnic differences. The results suggest that the underlying mechanisms influencing the level of asymmetry may be similar for all groups, and that certain dermatoglyphic areas like the thumb are more vulnerable to developmental/environmental stress, that cause asymmetry at the developmental stage.

Lipid and Lipoprotein Concentrations Among Andhra Populations: Need of Population Surveys

Abstract The present study reports Lipid (total cholesterol and triglycerides) and Lipoprotein (HDL, LDL, VLDL) concentrations among six Andhra populations and discussed importance of population surveys covering normal healthy individuals for developing policies for coronary heart diseases (CHD) prevention owing to unique genetic make -up of Indian populations.

The incidence of colour-blindness among the tribal populations of Andhra Pradesh.

Among 126 Valmiki, 128 Bagatha, 129 Konda Dora and 73 Samanta tribals of Andhra Pradesh, the incidence of red-green colour-blindness in the males ranges from zero to 2.27 per cent. Samanta males exhibit no colour-blindness. In the females, only Konda Doras exhibit a frequency of 2.44 per cent of the trait. Comparison of the present data with the other available tribal and non-tribal data of Andhra Pradesh shows that our results fall well in the range for other data. Posts (1962) hypothesis of relaxation of selection against colour-blindness is also supported by our Andhra Pradesh data.

Anthroposcopic Variation among Sub Tribes of Mali from Andhra Pradesh

Abstract The present paper reports the distribution of twelve anthroposcopic characters among two sub tribes of Mali viz., Manzai Mali and Bod Mali. Majority of Mali people are dark brown coloured and possess straight eye slits, straight nasal breadth and horizontal nasal septum. The forehead among majority of Malis is straight with medium height and breadth. Usually, the lips are medium sized and the prominence of chin is medium to receding. Dimple is seen among a very few. Majority of people possess attached ear lobes and men exhibit hyper trichosis. Regarding body built, men are athletic whereas women are asthentic. Bisexual differences are noticed for majority of character among Manzai Mali rather than among Bod Mali. The variation between two sub tribes in worth mentioning, since nine out of fifteen characters exhibited significant differences. This may be due to their varied socio-economic conditions, in addition to the genetic isolation.

INDIVIDUAL FERTILITY RATE AMONG MINOR TRIBAL POPULATIONS FROM ANDHRA PRADESH, INDIA

The Individual Fertility Rate (IFR), a measure of current fertility status in small and illiterate preindustrial societies, is estimated for five tribal populations from Andhra Pradesh, India. The Andhra tribes exhibit high individual fertility rates ranging between 49.62 +/- 1.76 (Konda Dora) and 66.63 +/- 3.16 (Manzai Mali) and fall in the high-fertility category. The differences in IFR values between affinal and consanguineous couples are not significant. A direct positive relation between IFR and tribal hierarchy is observed with relatively higher IFR values recorded for socially higher-ranked tribes in an ascending order from lower- to higher-ranked groups.