Elevated hypertension risk for African-origin populations in biracial societies: modeling the Epidemiologic Transition Study.
- Cooper RS aDepartment of Public Health Sciences, Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago, Maywood, Illinois, USA bSolutions for Developing Countries, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston, Jamaica cKwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana dInstitute of Social & Preventive Medicine, Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland & Ministry of Health, Republic of Seychelles eResearch Unit for Exercise Science and Sports Medicine, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
- Forrester TE
- Plange-Rhule J
- Bovet P
- Lambert EV
- Dugas LR
- Cargill KE
- Durazo-Arvizu RA
- Shoham DA
- Tong L
- Cao G
- Luke A
- 2014-11-27
Published in:
- Journal of hypertension. - 2015
Adult
African Continental Ancestry Group
Blood Pressure
Body Size
Energy Metabolism
Epidemiologic Studies
Female
Ghana
Humans
Hypertension
Jamaica
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Middle Aged
Prevalence
Risk Factors
Rural Population
Seychelles
Socioeconomic Factors
South Africa
United States
English
OBJECTIVES
Blood pressures in persons of African descent exceed those of other racial/ethnic groups in the United States. Whether this trait is attributable to the genetic factors in African-origin populations, or a result of inadequately measured environmental exposures, such as racial discrimination, is not known. To study this question, we conducted a multisite comparative study of communities in the African diaspora, drawn from metropolitan Chicago, Kingston, Jamaica, rural Ghana, Cape Town, South Africa, and the Seychelles.
METHODS
At each site, 500 participants between the age of 25 and 49 years, with approximately equal sex balance, were enrolled for a longitudinal study of energy expenditure and weight gain. In this study, we describe the patterns of blood pressure and hypertension observed at baseline among the sites.
RESULTS
Mean SBP and DBP were very similar in the United States and South Africa in both men and women, although among women, the prevalence of hypertension was higher in the United States (24 vs. 17%, respectively). After adjustment for multiple covariates, relative to participants in the United States, SBP was significantly higher among the South Africans by 9.7 mmHg (P < 0.05) and significantly lower for each of the other sites: for example, Jamaica: -7.9 mmHg (P = 0.06), Ghana: -12.8 mmHg (P < 0.01) and Seychelles: -11.1 mmHg (P = 0.01).
CONCLUSION
These data are consistent with prior findings of a blood pressure gradient in societies of the African diaspora and confirm that African-origin populations with lower social status in multiracial societies, such as the United States and South Africa, experience more hypertension than anticipated based on anthropometric and measurable socioeconomic risk factors.
Blood pressures in persons of African descent exceed those of other racial/ethnic groups in the United States. Whether this trait is attributable to the genetic factors in African-origin populations, or a result of inadequately measured environmental exposures, such as racial discrimination, is not known. To study this question, we conducted a multisite comparative study of communities in the African diaspora, drawn from metropolitan Chicago, Kingston, Jamaica, rural Ghana, Cape Town, South Africa, and the Seychelles.
METHODS
At each site, 500 participants between the age of 25 and 49 years, with approximately equal sex balance, were enrolled for a longitudinal study of energy expenditure and weight gain. In this study, we describe the patterns of blood pressure and hypertension observed at baseline among the sites.
RESULTS
Mean SBP and DBP were very similar in the United States and South Africa in both men and women, although among women, the prevalence of hypertension was higher in the United States (24 vs. 17%, respectively). After adjustment for multiple covariates, relative to participants in the United States, SBP was significantly higher among the South Africans by 9.7 mmHg (P < 0.05) and significantly lower for each of the other sites: for example, Jamaica: -7.9 mmHg (P = 0.06), Ghana: -12.8 mmHg (P < 0.01) and Seychelles: -11.1 mmHg (P = 0.01).
CONCLUSION
These data are consistent with prior findings of a blood pressure gradient in societies of the African diaspora and confirm that African-origin populations with lower social status in multiracial societies, such as the United States and South Africa, experience more hypertension than anticipated based on anthropometric and measurable socioeconomic risk factors.
- Language
-
- English
- Open access status
- green
- Identifiers
-
- DOI 10.1097/HJH.0000000000000429
- PMID 25426566
- Persistent URL
- https://folia.unifr.ch/global/documents/123042
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