Counting Oceanians of Non-European, Non-Asian Descent (ONENA) in the South Pacific to Make Them Count in Global Health

Abstract

Several diseases and vulnerabilities associated with genetic or microbial factors are more frequent among populations of Oceanian, Non-European, Non-Asian descent (ONENA). ONENA are specific and have long been isolated geographically. To our knowledge, there are no published official, quantitative, aggregated data on the populations impacted by these excess vulnerabilities in Oceania. We searched official census reports for updated estimates of the total population for each of the Pacific Island Countries and Territories (including Australia) and the US State of Hawaii, privileging local official statistical or censual sources. We multiplied the most recent total population estimate by the cumulative percentage of the ONENA population as determined in official reports. Including Australia and the US State of Hawaii, Oceania counts 27 countries and territories, populated in 2016 by approximately 41 M inhabitants (17 M not counting Australia) among which approximately 12.5 M (11.6 M not counting Australia) consider themselves of entire or partial ONENA ancestry. Specific genetic and microbiome traits of ONENA may be unique and need further investigation to adjust risk estimates, risk prevention, diagnostic and therapeutic strategies, to the benefit of populations in the Pacific and beyond.

Health Challenges of the Pacific Region: Insights From History, Geography, Social Determinants, Genetics, and the Microbiome

“…It is populated by ~41 million inhabitants, although approximately two-thirds of those people live in Australia and New Zealand, where European settlement accounts for the majority of the population and has had major cultural and socio-economic impacts. There are ~12.3 million inhabitants of the Pacific that have whole or partial indigenous Oceanian origins [details of the demographics of indigenous people in the Pacific are reviewed in (24)]; including the Indigenous Australian (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders) and New Zealand Maori populations. This distinction between indigenous Oceanians and descendants of immigrant ancestries (arrived within the past 230 years) is useful in a public health context, because health indicators differ greatly, reflecting both the differing challenges and vulnerabilities faced by population subgroups, and access to healthcare and education.…”

Overweight in the pluri-ethnic adolescent population of New Caledonia: Dietary patterns, sleep duration and screen time

“…The major cause of overweight/obesity is often a long-term mismatch between energy intake and expenditure [27] , [28] . This mismatch has become more prominent today in relation with lifestyle changes, which have been striking in populations of Oceanian, Non-European, Non-Asian (ONENA) ancestry [29] . Indeed, unhealthy eating habits, physical inactivity, screen watching and sleeping patterns may contribute to the current obesity epidemic in PICTs [30] , but these trends have never been studied in New Caledonian adolescents.…”

Prevalence of Mycoplasma genitalium and other sexually transmitted pathogens in male urethritis in a sexual health centre in New Caledonia

“…Most patients were heterosexual (207/217; 95.4%) and of Oceanian, non-European, non-Asian ancestry (ONENA) (195/217; 89.9%). 5…”

“…Most patients were heterosexual (207/217; 95.4%) and of Oceanian, non-European, non-Asian ancestry (ONENA) (195/ 217; 89.9%). 5 The prevalence of MG among all included patients was 10.1% (22/217) (Table 2). There was initially no significant association between age, ethnicity, or sexual orientation and the presence of MG.…”