Clinical Cornerstone • DIVERSITY IN MEDICINE • Vol. 6, No. 1 Specific Health Issues in Ethnic Minority Groups A. Niroshan Siriwardena, MMedSci, PhD, FRCGP Clinical Senior Lecturer in Primary Care De Montfort University Division of Primary Care Leicester, United Kingdom The study of disease patterns in ethnic minority groups offers insights into the causation of disease. Ethnic minorities have wide variations in health conditions and behaviors, and stereotyping can lead to spurious assumptions in caring for patients. This article presents basic information relating to major ill- nesses such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer and common health disorders observed among ethnic groups primarily in the United Kingdom and United States. (Clinical Cornerstone ® . 2004;611]:34-42) Copyright © 2004 Excerpta Medica, Inc. People from different ethnic backgrounds may be more or less likely to get certain diseases, which may be a result of cultural factors, ie, lifestyle choices derived from shared beliefs learned in childhood. For example, lung cancer is rare among Punjabi Sikhs, who do not smoke tobacco. Some diseases have a high prevalence among certain ethnic minority groups, such as coronary heart disease (CHD) and diabetes in South Asians (people born or descended from indigenous populations in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka). Other diseases, occa- sionally called "ethnic conditions," are found only among people from a particular ethnic group, although because everyone has an ethnicity, this is a misnomer. 1 Mortality and morbidity patterns in ethnic minority groups are as much influenced by socioec- onomic and environmental factors as they are by cultural and genetic factors.2 Furthermore, socioec- onomic disadvantages are accentuated by racial discrimination, and language, cultural, and socioec- onomic barriers can affect access to health care) Overall, the major diseases affecting ethnic minor- ity groups in the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK) are similar to the indigenous population. 4 KEY POINT Mortality and morbidity patterns in ethnic minority groups are as much influenced by socioeconomic and environmental factors as by cultural and genetic factors. Although the study of disease patterns in ethnic minority groups offers insights into the causation of disease, it is important to acknowledge the inherent problems in defining ethnicity, 5 the wide variations in health and health behaviors within ethnic minorities,6 and the spurious assumptions and stereotyping that can create difficulties in caring for patients.7,s For example, South Asians, although they may share some genetic and cultural features, are a highly dis- parate group in terms of health behaviors.9 Important differences can also be observed in the consultation behavior of ethnic minority patients and of the physi- cians who treat them. For example, Asian patients from the Indian subcontinent living in the UK are more likely to consult a general practitioner l° and are 34