Genetic, Anthropometric, and Blood Pressure Variability in a Southern, Rural, Black Population (Mississippi, Body Mass Index)
O'neil, Karen Elizabeth
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/70698
Description
Title
Genetic, Anthropometric, and Blood Pressure Variability in a Southern, Rural, Black Population (Mississippi, Body Mass Index)
Author(s)
O'neil, Karen Elizabeth
Issue Date
1986
Department of Study
Anthropology
Discipline
Anthropology
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Anthropology, Physical
Abstract
Previous surveys in Holmes County, Mississippi have provided data on hypertension prevalence, blood pressure distribution, and selected sociodemographic measures. The present study investigates the relationships between genetic markers, anthropometric measures, and blood pressure for a sample of 306 individuals from the population of Holmes County. Specifically, this investigation tests the hypothesis of whether the use of genetic markers, anthropometric measures, and other biological attributes can differentiate subsets of hypertension, and identify segments of the population at particular risk for high blood pressure.
The present study shows that the population of Holmes County shares with other southern black populations rather distinctive age-sex patterns of blood pressure variability. Results also indicate sex differences in both age patterns and prevalence of isolated systolic hypertension. In particular, this study identifies older black females as a segment of the population at particular risk for isolated elevated systolic blood pressure. Further, the relationships found between isolated systolic hypertension, and genetic marker and anthropometric variables differ from those found between the latter and classic hypertension. This study thus supports the contention that hypertension is a heterogeneous group of disorders, and that isolated systolic hypertension in particular can be separated from the more traditionally defined hypertension.
Blood pressure-genetic marker associations found in this study suggest that certain segments of the population may be at increased risk for high blood pressure. In addition, age and sex differences appear in the relationships between anthropometric variables, and both blood pressure and genetic markers. Since this study shows that age, race, and sex influence the relationships among the variables, there is thus a strong argument for analyzing these types of relationships separately for specific race-sex-age groupings.
The results of the present study constitute a first step in establishing relationships between biological attributes and blood pressure levels. Future studies would want to analyse a similar set of biological variables for a representative sample of the white population in Holmes County to see if the same sort of relationships hold. Further studies of other black populations are also needed in order to confirm or refute these preliminary findings.
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