Objective: Hypertension is related to increased body fat, which can be evaluated by anthropometric indicators among the Aos, a tribe of North-East India. Methods: Cross-sectional study with a sample of 1804 Ao adults (male= 890) (females= 914) aged 18 to 70 years. We considered the following anthropometric indicators: body mass index, waist circumference, waist-tohip ratio and waist-to-stature ratio. To identify predictors of high blood pressure, we adopted the analysis of receiver operating characteristic curves with a confidence interval of 95%. Result: For males, the area under curve with confidence intervals were BMI = 0.691 (0.67-0.712); waist circumference=0.757 (0.739-0.775); waist-to-hip ratio=0.692 (0.671-0.713); waist-to-stature ratio = 0.763 (0.745-0.781) and Conicity index = 0.734 (0.716-0.716). For females, the values were BMI = 0.754 (0.732-0.776); waist circumference = 0.762 (0.74-0.784); waist-to-hip ratio = 0.690 (0.668-0.784), waist-to-stature ratio=0.776 (0.753-0.799) and Conicity index=0.722 (0.701-0.743). Different cut off points of anthropometric indicators with better predictive power and their relevant sensitivities and specificities were identified. Conclusion: BMI does not show a very good area under the ROC curve. It seems that waist-to-stature ratio is the best predictor, followed by waist circumference and Conicity index among the males and results in high sensitivity and specificity to hypertension. We suggest the use of both waistto- stature ratio and waist circumference to predict hypertension among males. Among females, waist-to-stature ratio is the best predictor, followed by waist circumference and body mass index. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ajms.v4i3.6275 Asian Journal of Medical Sciences 4(2013) 15-22

Genotyping of highly polymorphic autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) markers is a potent tool for elucidating genetic diversity. In the present study, fifteen autosomal STR markers were analyzed in unrelated healthy male Gorkha individuals (n = 98) serving in the Indian Army by using AmpFlSTR Identifiler Plus PCR Amplification Kit. In total, 138 alleles were observed with corresponding allele frequencies ranging from 0.005 to 0.469. The studied loci were in Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium (HWE). Heterozygosity ranged from 0.602 to 0.867. The most polymorphic locus was Fibrinogen Alpha (FGA) chain which was also the most discriminating locus as expected. Neighbor Joining (NJ) tree and principal component analysis (PCA) plot clustered the Gorkhas with those of Nepal and other Tibeto-Burman population while lowlander Indian population formed separate cluster substantiating the closeness of the Gorkhas with the Tibeto-Burman linguistic phyla. Furthermore, the dataset of STR markers obtained in the study presents a valuable information source of STR DNA profiles from personnel for usage in disaster victim identification in military exigencies and adds to the Indian database of military soldiers and military hospital repository.

BackgroundGorkhas, a sub-mountainous population of the Himalayan region, are known for strength and bravery. In the present study when “Gorkha” is used without brackets, we are mentioning Gorkhas of Tibeto-Burman origin. Physical capability, strength and endurance are important components of fitness associated with genetic traits. The aim of this study was to examine the endurance potential of male Gorkha soldiers, based on endurance-related genetic markers ACE I/D, ACTN3 Arg (R)577Ter(X), CKMM A/G NcoI and eNOS Glu(G)298Asp(T).MethodsGenotypic and allelic frequencies were determined in 374 male Gorkha soldiers (Tibeto-Burman). These frequencies were compared with frequencies obtained from Gorkha (Indo-Aryan), high-altitude natives (Tibeto-Burman) and Indian lowlanders (Indo-Aryan). “Total genotype score” (TGS) was calculated from accumulated combination of polymorphisms with maximum value “100” for theoretically “optimal” polygenic score. Probability of occurrence of “optimal” endurance profile was also determined.Results ACE II genotypic frequency was highest in Tamangs followed by Gurungs, Rais, Limbus and Magars. No statistical difference in genotypic and allelic frequency of ACTN3 Arg(R)577Ter(X) was noted within the groups. Rais showed the highest CKMM A allele frequency (0.908) compared to other Gorkha (Tibeto-Burman) groups. Limbus and Tamangs showed the highest eNOS G allele frequency (0.938 and 0.915, respectively) compared to that of other groups. Probability of male Gorkha soldiers possessing a theoretically optimal polygenic endurance profile for four candidate polymorphisms was ~3.35% (1 in 30). Four percent of the population of male Gorkha soldiers (15 in 374) exhibited an optimal TGS 100, and 16% exhibited TGS 87 for endurance compared to male Indian soldiers belonging to the lowland (Indo-Aryan) and Gorkha (Indo-Aryan) populations suggesting an overall more “favourable” polygenic profile in the male Gorkha soldier (Tibeto-Burman) population.ConclusionsThis study presents evidence of higher frequency of endurance-associated genes in the Gorkhas implying thereby that such genetically endowed individuals from the population may be selected and trained for achieving excellence in endurance-related elite sports activities.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40798-017-0085-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.