GYPSIES

Gypsies

Gypsies

Article 1: Thomas, James D. (1988) 'Health Care of American Gypsies. Social and Medical Aspects

Review

Gypsies are a cohesive cultural group who may have difficult relations with the American medical community. There are several hundred thousand Gypsies in this country; they maintain a private society with an internal moral code and legal system. There is a strong cultural basis for obesity, tobacco use, fatty diet, and inbreeding among Gypsies. These traits predispose them to hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and occlusive vascular disease. When ill they present a striking dichotomy of primitive fears of disease process with surprising sophistication for medical terms and the ...