Ethnicity and Arterial Stiffness in Brazil

• Published in: American journal of hypertension Vol. 24; no. 3; pp. 278 - 284
• Main Authors: de Lima Santos, Paulo Caleb Júnior, de Oliveira Alvim, Rafael, Ferreira, Noely Evangelista, de Sá Cunha, Roberto, Krieger, José Eduardo, Mill, José Geraldo, Pereira, Alexandre Costa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basingstoke Oxford University Press 01.03.2011; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: Adult; Arterial hypertension. Arterial hypotension; Biological and medical sciences; Blood and lymphatic vessels; Blood Flow Velocity - physiology; Blood Pressure; Brazil - ethnology; Cardiology. Vascular system; Cardiovascular Diseases - etiology; Carotid Arteries - physiopathology; Cross-Sectional Studies; Elasticity; Female; Femoral Artery - physiopathology; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Metabolic diseases; Middle Aged; Other nutritional diseases (malnutrition, nutritional and vitamin deficiencies...); Pulsatile Flow - physiology; South America; Brazil; America; blood pressure; arterial compliance; ethnicity; hypertension; Brazilian Amerindian; Amerindian; Hypertension; Cardiovascular disease; Arterial pressure; Blood pressure; Stiffness
• ISSN: 0895-7061; 1941-7225; 1941-7225
• DOI: 10.1038/ajh.2010.244

Background The impact of increased central arterial stiffness as a predictor of morbidity and mortality, independently of other cardiovascular (CV) risk factors, has been established. The main aim of the present work was to investigate the association of ethnicity on arterial stiffness in different ethnic groups from the Brazilian population. Methods A total of 1,427 individuals from the general population were randomly selected from the Vitoria City metropolitan area and 588 Amerindians from a native community in Brazil. The ethnicity of the general population was classified by a standard questionnaire as Caucasian descent, African descent, or Mulattos (considered racially mixed subjects). Pulse wave velocity (PWV) was measured with a noninvasive automatic device (Complior, Colson; Garges les Gonesses, France). Results Hemodynamic data of PWV, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and mean blood pressure (MBP) was higher in African descent individuals than in the other groups (P <0.001). These results were still observed after adjustment for age and mean arterial pressure (P <0.001). In addition, studying only normotensive individuals, PWV adjusted levels were higher in African descent individuals, and lower in Amerindians when compared with other ethnic groups (P <0.01), showing, without the possible confounder effects of time and severity of hypertension or medication use, that PWV is associated with ethnicity in our population. Conclusion The study of different ethnic groups from a highly admixtured population was able to demonstrate an association between ethnicity and arterial stiffness. American Journal of Hypertension advance online publication 23 December 2010; doi:10.1038/ajh.2010.244