scholarly journals Genetic continuity of Indo-Iranian speakers since the Iron Age in southern Central Asia

2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Perle Guarino-Vignon ◽  
Nina Marchi ◽  
Julio Bendezu-Sarmiento ◽  
Evelyne Heyer ◽  
Céline Bon
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Asian Population ◽  
Partial Replacement ◽  
South Asian Population ◽  
Asian Populations ◽  
Genome Wide Data ◽  
Southern Central ◽  
Genetic Continuity ◽  
Iranian Populations

AbstractSince prehistoric times, southern Central Asia has been at the crossroads of the movement of people, culture, and goods. Today, the Central Asian populations are divided into two cultural and linguistic groups: the Indo-Iranian and the Turko-Mongolian groups. Previous genetic studies unveiled that migrations from East Asia contributed to the spread of Turko-Mongolian populations in Central Asia and the partial replacement of the Indo-Iranian populations. However, little is known about the origin of the latters. To shed light on this, we compare the genetic data on two current-day Indo-Iranian populations — Yaghnobis and Tajiks — with genome-wide data from published ancient individuals. The present Indo-Iranian populations from Central Asia display a strong genetic continuity with Iron Age samples from Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. We model Yaghnobis as a mixture of 93% Iron Age individual from Turkmenistan and 7% from Baikal. For the Tajiks, we observe a higher Baikal ancestry and an additional admixture event with a South Asian population. Our results, therefore, suggest that in addition to a complex history, Central Asia shows a remarkable genetic continuity since the Iron Age, with only limited gene flow.

scholarly journals Genetic continuity of Indo-Iranian speakers since the Iron Age in southern Central Asia.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Perle C. P. Guarino-Vignon ◽  
Nina Marchi ◽  
Julio Bendezu-Sarmiento ◽  
Evelyne Heyer ◽  
Celine Bon
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Asian Population ◽  
Partial Replacement ◽  
South Asian Population ◽  
South Central ◽  
Genome Wide Data ◽  
Southern Central ◽  
Genetic Continuity ◽  
Linguistic Groups

Since prehistoric times, South Central Asia has been at the crossroads of the movement of people, culture, and goods. Today, the Central Asia's populations are divided into two cultural and linguistic groups: the Indo-Iranian and the Turko-Mongolian groups. Previous genetic studies unveiled that migrations from East Asia contributed to the spread of Turko-Mongolian populations in Central Asia and the partial replacement of the Indo-Iranian population. However, little is known about the origin of the latter. To shed light on this, we compare the genetic data on two current-day populations - Yaghnobis and Tajiks - with genome-wide data from published ancient individuals. The present Indo-Iranian populations from Central Asia display a strong genetic continuity with Iron Age samples from Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. We model Yaghnobis as a mixture of 93% Iron Age individual from Turkmenistan and 7% from Baikal. For the Tajiks, we observe a higher Baikal ancestry and an additional admixture event with a South Asian population. Our results, therefore, suggest that in addition to a complex history, Central Asia shows a remarkable genetic continuity since the Iron Age, with only limited gene flow.

scholarly journals Association between body mass index (BMI) and hypertension in south Asian population: evidence from nationally-representative surveys

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fariha Binte Hossain ◽  
Gourab Adhikary ◽  
Ariful Bari Chowdhury ◽  
Md Shajedur Rahman Shawon
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass Index ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Asian Population ◽  
Wealth Index ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
National Committee ◽  
South Asian Population ◽  
Asian Populations

Abstract Background Although there has been a well-established association between overweight-obesity and hypertension, whether such associations are heterogeneous for South Asian populations, or for different socioeconomic groups is not well-known. We explored the associations of overweight and obesity using South Asian cut-offs with hypertension, and also examined the relationships between body mass index (BMI) and hypertension in various socioeconomic subgroups. Methods We analysed the recent Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data from Bangladesh, India, and Nepal, with a total of 821,040 men and women. Hypertension was defined by 2017 ACC/AHA cut-offs and by Joint National Committee 7 (JNC7) cut-offs for measured blood pressure and overweight and obesity were defined by measured height and weight. We used multiple logistic regressions to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of hypertension for overweight and obesity as well as for each 5-unit increase in BMI. Results The prevalence of hypertension using JNC7 cut-offs among participants increased by age in all three countries. The prevalence ranged from 17.4% in 35–44 years to 34.9% in ≥55 years in Bangladesh, from 4.6% in 18–24 years to 28.6% in 45–54 years in India, and from 3.8% in 18–24 years to 39.2% in ≥55 years in Nepal. Men were more likely to be hypertensive than women in India and Nepal, but not in Bangladesh. Overweight and obesity using both WHO and South Asian cut-offs were associated with higher odds of hypertension in all countries. For each 5 kg/m2 increase in BMI, the ORs for hypertension were 1.79 (95% CI: 1.65–1.93), 1.59 (95% CI: 1.58–1.61), and 2.03 (95% CI: 1.90–2.16) in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal, respectively. The associations between BMI and hypertension were consistent across various subgroups defined by sex, age, urbanicity, educational attainment and household’s wealth index. Conclusions Our study shows that the association of BMI with hypertension is stronger for South Asian populations at even lower cut-offs points for overweight and obesity. Therefore, public health measures to reduce population-level reduction in BMI in all population groups would also help in lowering the burden of hypertension.

scholarly journals The Need for Culturally Competent Care Within Gastroenterology Services: Evidence from Research with Adults of South Asian Origin Living with Inflammatory Bowel Disease

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Mukherjee ◽  
Bryony Beresford ◽  
Karl Atkin ◽  
Shaji Sebastian
Keyword(s):  
Inflammatory Bowel Disease ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Bowel Disease ◽  
Extended Family ◽  
Religious Faith ◽  
Asian Population ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
South Asian Population ◽  
Asian Populations ◽  
Inflammatory Bowel

Abstract Background and Aims It is widely acknowledged that the incidence of inflammatory bowel disease [IBD] is rising within South Asian populations, yet research into the experiences of this group of patients is rare. In this study the lived experiences of UK South Asian adults with IBD, including support from gastroenterology services, was investigated. Methods A sample of 33 patients representing the diversity of the UK South Asian population were recruited through five gastroenterology clinics in England. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted, audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed using the Framework approach. Results Although many experiences align with those of the general IBD population, participants believed that South Asian cultures and/or religions can lead to additional challenges. These are linked to: family and friends’ understanding of IBD; self and family attributions regarding IBD; stigma surrounding ill health; the taboo of bowel symptoms; managing ‘spicy food’; beliefs about food and ill health; roles within the family; living with extended family; the use of complementary and alternative therapies; and visits to family overseas. Religious faith helped many to cope with having IBD, but symptoms could hamper their ability to practise faith. Gastroenterology services were viewed positively, but unmet needs were identified, some of which were culturally specific. Conclusion Gastroenterology services have an important role to play in helping patients to overcome the challenges they encounter in their everyday life, both by providing individual patients with culturally appropriate care and advice, and via interventions to increase awareness and understanding of IBD within wider South Asian communities.

scholarly journals Signatures of natural selection and ethnic-specific prevalence of NPC1 pathogenic mutations contributing to obesity and Niemann–Pick disease type C1

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreea Chiorean ◽  
William S. Garver ◽  
David Meyre
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Asian Population ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
The South ◽  
South Asian Population ◽  
Asian Populations ◽  
Pathogenic Mutations ◽  
Z Scores ◽  
Niemann Pick

Abstract While homozygous pathogenic mutations in the NPC1 gene cause Niemann-Pick type C1 disease, heterozygous mutations cause highly-penetrant obesity. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of NPC1 mutations and their signatures of natural selection in 122,678 exome sequenced participants from six ethnic groups in the Genome Aggregation Database. Pathogenic missense coding mutations were identified by in silico tools and the ClinVar database. Signatures of natural selection were assessed by the probability of NPC1 being loss-of-function mutation intolerant and Z-scores of observed/expected synonymous and non-synonymous mutation ratios. There was no evidence of negative selection observed for synonymous, non-synonymous and loss-of-function mutations. However, there were significant ethnic differences in the prevalence of heterozygous pathogenic NPC1 mutations ranging from 0.56% in Ashkenazi Jewish to 3.26% in African/African Americans (5.8-fold difference). Four homozygous carriers of pathogenic NPC1 mutations were also identified, belonging to the South Asian population. In conclusion, NPC1 mutations are consistent with a model of balanced selection, where heterozygotes and homozygotes have higher and lower reproductive fitness, respectively. Therefore, NPC1 heterozygous mutations may account for a substantial and ethnic-dependent percentage of obesity in the general population, while NPC1 homozygous mutations may be frequent in the South Asian populations and warrants more investigation.

scholarly journals Ancient Xinjiang mitogenomes reveal intense admixture with high genetic diversity

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (14) ◽  
pp. eabd6690
Author(s):  
Wenjun Wang ◽  
Manyu Ding ◽  
Jacob D. Gardner ◽  
Yongqiang Wang ◽  
Bo Miao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Genetic Admixture ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
High Genetic Diversity ◽  
Genetic History ◽  
Asian Populations ◽  
History Of ◽  
Genetic Continuity ◽  
The Bronze Age

Xinjiang is a key region in northwestern China, connecting East and West Eurasian populations and cultures for thousands of years. To understand the genetic history of Xinjiang, we sequenced 237 complete ancient human mitochondrial genomes from the Bronze Age through Historical Era (41 archaeological sites). Overall, the Bronze Age Xinjiang populations show high diversity and regional genetic affinities with Steppe and northeastern Asian populations along with a deep ancient Siberian connection for the Tarim Basin Xiaohe individuals. In the Iron Age, in general, Steppe-related and northeastern Asian admixture intensified, with North and East Xinjiang populations showing more affinity with northeastern Asians and South Xinjiang populations showing more affinity with Central Asians. The genetic structure observed in the Historical Era of Xinjiang is similar to that in the Iron Age, demonstrating genetic continuity since the Iron Age with some additional genetic admixture with populations surrounding the Xinjiang region.

scholarly journals The genetic legacy of continental scale admixture in Indian Austroasiatic speakers

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kai Tätte ◽  
Luca Pagani ◽  
Ajai K. Pathak ◽  
Sulev Kõks ◽  
Binh Ho Duy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Asians ◽  
Asian Population ◽  
South Asian Population ◽  
Southeast Asians ◽  
Continental Scale ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Genome Wide Data ◽  
Different Populations ◽  
Source Populations ◽  
Austroasiatic Languages

AbstractSurrounded by speakers of Indo-European, Dravidian and Tibeto-Burman languages, around 11 million Munda (a branch of Austroasiatic language family) speakers live in the densely populated and genetically diverse South Asia. Their genetic makeup holds components characteristic of South Asians as well as Southeast Asians. The admixture time between these components has been previously estimated on the basis of archaeology, linguistics and uniparental markers. Using genome-wide genotype data of 102 Munda speakers and contextual data from South and Southeast Asia, we retrieved admixture dates between 2000 – 3800 years ago for different populations of Munda. The best modern proxies for the source populations for the admixture with proportions 0.78/0.22 are Lao people from Laos and Dravidian speakers from Kerala in India, while the South Asian population(s), with whom the incoming Southeast Asians intermixed, had a smaller proportion of West Eurasian component than contemporary proxies. Somewhat surprisingly Malaysian Peninsular tribes rather than the geographically closer Austroasiatic languages speakers like Vietnamese and Cambodians show highest sharing of IBD segments with the Munda. In addition, we affirmed that the grouping of the Munda speakers into North and South Munda based on linguistics is in concordance with genome-wide data.

Back to the Iron Age Chronology in Southern Central Asia

2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 337-377
Author(s):  
Bertille Lyonnet ◽  
Michel Fontugne
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
The Other ◽  
Hellenistic Period ◽  
Southern Central

Abstract The article reconsiders two major sites of the 1st millennium BC in southern Uzbekistan, Kyzyltepa and Kurganzol. It contests their recent dating – exclusively the Achaemenid and transitional Hellenistic period for the first one, and the end of the 4th c. BC for the second one – mainly based upon dendrochronological analyses relating the samples to the time of Alexander the Great’s conquest or slightly before, and ruling out the other dates given to these sites in previous publications. Our argumentation is based upon (1) various archaeological arguments and (2) scientific criteria that question the dendrochronological data and the supposed aging of the 14C results due to “old waters” from glaciers.

Central Asia and the Interaction between the Iranian Plateau and the Steppes in Late First Millennium BC

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 331-353
Author(s):  
Johanna Lhuillier ◽  
Julio Bendezu-Sarmiento
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Aral Sea ◽  
Cultural Groups ◽  
Late Neolithic ◽  
Stratigraphic Sequence ◽  
Iranian Plateau ◽  
Southern Central ◽  
First Millennium ◽  
Middle Iron Age

AbstractResearch led by the joint French-Turkmen Archaeological Expedition (MAFTur) at Ulug-depe have brought to light the longest continuous stratigraphic sequence of southern Central Asia, starting from the Late Neolithic up to the Middle Iron Age. During the last fieldwork seasons, a later, still poorly-known occupation has been identified: after its abandonment at the end of the Middle Iron Age period, Ulug-depe was briefly reoccupied during the late 1st millennium BC. The archaeological levels related to this occupation are extremely poorly preserved, and this stage is mainly witnessed by a particular pottery complex. Preliminary and ongoing researches on this pottery complex suggest that it principally includes Hellenistic-period vessels associated with some more unusual shapes. This association of material finds analogies in the area of interaction between the northern and the southern parts of Central Asia (i.e., in Uzbekistan, in a territory stretching from Tashkent to the Aral Sea through the Syr Darya area). In this paper, we will present a first overview of these discoveries, placing Ulug-depe at the crossroads of different cultural groups, sedentary and possibly nomadic, at the end of the 1st millennium BC.

scholarly journals Association between body mass index (BMI) and hypertension in South Asian population: Evidence from Demographic and Health Survey

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fariha Binte Hossain ◽  
Shajedur Rahman Shawon ◽  
Gourab Adhikary ◽  
Arif Chowdhury
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass Index ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Health Survey ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Asian Population ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Demographic And Health Survey ◽  
South Asian Population ◽  
Asian Populations

ABSTRACTAlthough there has been a well-established association between adiposity and hypertension, whether such associations are heterogeneous for South Asian populations or for different socioeconomic groups is not well-known. We analysed the recent Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data from Bangladesh, India, and Nepal to estimate the age-specific prevalence of hypertension and the association of body mass index (BMI) with hypertension. We used multiple logistic regressions to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of hypertension for overweight and obesity as well as for each 5-unit increase in BMI. The overall prevalence for hypertension among participants aged 35-44 years were 17.4%, 20%, and 22.5% for Bangladesh, India, and Nepal, respectively. For all age groups, men were more likely to be hypertensive than women in India and Nepal, but not in Bangladesh. Overweight and obesity were associated with higher odds of hypertension in all countries. For each 5 kg/m2 increase in BMI, the ORs for hypertension were 1.79 (95% CI: 1.65-1.93), 1.59 (95% CI: 1.58-1.61), and 2.03 (95% CI: 1.90-2.16) in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal, respectively. The associations between BMI and hypertension were consistent across various subgroups defined by sex, age, urbanicity, educational attainment and household’s wealth index. Our study shows that the association of BMI with hypertension is stronger for South Asian populations, and public health measures to reduce population-level reduction in BMI would also help in lowering the burden of hypertension.

scholarly journals Archaeogenetics of Late Iron Age Çemialo Sırtı, Batman: Investigating maternal genetic continuity in North Mesopotamia since the Neolithic

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reyhan Yaka ◽  
Ayşegül Birand ◽  
Yasemin Yılmaz ◽  
Ceren Caner ◽  
Sinan Can Açan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Demographic History ◽  
High Genetic Diversity ◽  
Asian Populations ◽  
Late Iron Age ◽  
First Millennium ◽  
Genetic Continuity ◽  
The Impact

AbstractNorth Mesopotamia has witnessed dramatic political and social change since the Bronze Age, but the impact of these events on its demographic history is little understood. Here we study this question by analysing the recently excavated Late Iron Age settlement of Çemialo Sırtı in Batman, southeast Turkey. Archaeological and/or radiocarbon evidence indicate that the site was inhabited during two main periods: the first half of the 2nd millennium BCE and the first millennium BCE. Çemialo Sırtı reveals nomadic items of the Early Iron Age, as well as items associated with the Late Achaemenid and subsequent Hellenistic Periods. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotypes from 12 Çemialo Sırtı individuals reveal high genetic diversity in this population, conspicuously higher than early Holocene west Eurasian populations, which supports the notion of increasing population admixture in west Eurasia through the Holocene. Still, in its mtDNA composition, Çemialo Sırtı shows highest affinity to Neolithic north Syria and Neolithic Anatolia among ancient populations studied, and to modern-day southwest Asian populations. Population genetic simulations do not reject continuity between Neolithic and Iron Age, nor between Iron Age and present-day populations of the region. Despite the region’s complex political history and indication for increased genetic diversity over time, we find no evidence for sharp shifts in north Mesopotamian maternal genetic composition within the last 10,000 years.

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