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PRESS RELEASE
NERUOEPIDIMIOLOGY
TWO ISSUES ON THE HEALTH
OF THE ROMA COMMUNITY IN GREECE AND IN BULGARIA
19
DECEMBER
2000
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19 December 2000
TWO ISSUES ON THE HEALTH OF THE ROMA COMMUNITY IN
GREECE AND IN BULGARIA
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Two recent articles on the health of "Gypsy" populations are
fascinating.
The first is on the lung function of 121 Greek Gypsies. It shows, on
the
average, a major reduction in the ability to breathe among this
population.
It attributes it, in part, to the high prevalence of smoking (over 70%
smoke). It suggests that the risk of lung disease among Gypsies should
be a
major public health concern, at least in Greece.
It appears in the December 2000 issue of the Archives of Environmental
Health.
The second is on Parkinson's Disease (PD) among Bulgarian Gypsies. It
examines 6163 Gypsies and 87025 non-Gypsy Bulgarians. It shows the
rate of
PD, a degenerative neurological disorder, is far lower among the
Gypsies
than among the non-Gypsies and suggests that the difference is genetic
not
environmental. It is a fascinating result because the rate for Gypsies
is
similar to the rate for Asian populations which is far lower than the
rate
for European populations. Another piece of evidence that Gypsies and
their
hosts come from different gene pools.
It is in the July 2000 issue of Neuroepidemiology
Larry
Lawrence Mayer, MD, MS, PhD
Professor of Public Health and Medicine
larrymayer@att.net
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