ObjectivesTo assess the current health of the Deaf community in the UK and compare with the general population.DesignA quota sample of adult Deaf British Sign Language (BSL) users underwent a health assessment and interview in 2012–2013. Comparative data were obtained from the Health Survey for England (HSE) 2011 and the Quality Outcomes Framework (QOF) 2012.SettingParticipants completed a structured interview and health assessment at seven Bupa centres across the UK, supported in BSL by Deaf advisers and interpreters.Participants298 Deaf people, 20–82 years old, 47% male, with 12% from ethnic minorities.Main outcome measuresSelf–reported health conditions, medication usage, tobacco and alcohol consumption; measured blood pressure (BP), body mass index, fasting blood sugar and lipid profile.ResultsRates of obesity in the Deaf sample were high, especially in those over 65 years, and 48% were in a high risk group for serious illness. High BP readings were obtained in 37% of Deaf people (21% in HSE): 29% were unaware of this (6% in HSE). Only 42% of Deaf people being treated for hypertension had adequate control, compared with 62% of the general population. Deaf people with self-reported cardiovascular disease (CVD) were significantly less than the general population. One-third of Deaf participants had total cholesterol >5 mmol/L but although control rates were high compared with HSE, treatment rates for self-reported CVD were half the general population rate. Eleven per cent of Deaf participants had blood sugar at prediabetic or diabetic levels, and 77% of those at prediabetic levels were unaware of it. Deaf respondents self-reported more depression (31% of women, 14% of men), but less smoking (8%) and alcohol intake (2–8 units/week).ConclusionsDeaf people's health is poorer than that of the general population, with probable underdiagnosis and undertreatment of chronic conditions putting them at risk of preventable ill health.

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British Sign Language is a language exhibiting extensive regional variation and undergoing rapid change, in a period of changing attitudes to the language and the community of signers. Fingerspelling (a representation of written English) is an aspect of BSL that reflects these variations strongly. Analysis of interviews with Deaf signers appearing on BBC television shows that use of fingerspelling may vary according to various demographic factors and the signers' use of voice. There has also been a decrease in the overall use of fingerspelling in BSL over the last 10 years. Strong evidence is presented to support the claim that fingerspelling in BSL is of two distinct linguistic types. Some fingerspelling involves code-mixing with English, whereas some has become incorporated into the language itself. Further evidence for such a "discontinuity" between the code-mixing and borrowing is presented and discussed.This article forms part of a larger study into the recent changes and variation found in British Sign Language (BSL), the native language of the British Deaf community. BSL is used by approximately 50,000 Deaf people and is Britain's fourth most widely used indigenous language. As there is no established written form of the language, the history of the language is sketchy. The first written records we have of British Sign Language date back to the 17th century, but these do not suggest that it is a new language (Bulwer, 1644(Bulwer, , 1648. BSL is a visual-gestural language in which signs represent referents in much the same way as words do in spoken languages. Lexical information is encoded in configurations and movements of the hands and arms.

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