Comment 1
It is known that people of certain nationalities (meaning also racial and ethnic characteristics) are prone to certain diseases and may differently respond to medication. In the textbook «Introduction to internal diseases» (2007) N.A. Muhin and V.S. Moiseev also noted: «It is desirable to specify ethnicity, because some diseases are more common in people of certain nationalities».
Examples include the following data.
1. Periodic disease (syn.: familial Mediterranean fever, the Armenian disease) [Vinogradova O. Periodic disease. M. Med., 1973. - 200 p.; Arutyun-yan V.M., Akopyan G.S. Periodic disease. - M. MIA, 2000. - 302 p.; Medical Encyclopedia. Moscow: Publishing House «Onyx 21», 2002. - S. 419]. Periodic disease (PD) is observed in people from Mediterranean countries, mainly among Jews (Sephardic Jews1), and the Arabs, Armenians, Turks, regardless of where they live. PD is a hereditary disease caused by a defect on chromosome short arm of chromosome 16. The main manifestations of the disease - recurrent high fever (up to 40 °C) and benign diffuse aseptic serositis (peritonitis in the abdominal form of PD, pleurisy in thoracic form of PD, pericarditis), arthritis, skin eruption. It is important that in PD abdominal form, clinical acute abdomen (abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal muscle strain, signs of peritoneal irritation, leukocytosis) can develop periodically (every 2 weeks) and these patients not rarely are subjected to unnecessary (!) repeated operations. It is important to know that there are no specific laboratory or instrumental methods confirming the diagnosis, and for the diagnosis of PD anamnestic information about the nationality of the patient and the presence of such disease in relatives are precisely important. Particularly great difficulties in diagnosis occur during the first attack of relapsing peritonitis (in boys). It is believed that a genetic defect is due to the influence of high level of natural radiation in the mountains, intense sun exposure, diet (eating a lot of vegetables, fruits, oil, limited consumption of meat and animal fats). It is supposed that there was a defect in the genes of ancient Sephardic Jews. The Jews of Ashkenazi («Ashke-nazi» - Germany), i.e. Jews of the Central Europe, almost have no PD as their ancestors, living to the north, were not subjected to this excessive radiation and insolation. PD incidence among Sephardic Jews is 1:500,