The association of skin color with blood pressure in US blacks with low socioeconomic status

Article Abstract:

Black Americans are more likely to have high blood pressure (hypertension) than whites. Although access to health care, social class, diet, and other risk factors account for some of this difference, the exact reasons for the disparity are not known. There may also be a genetic predisposition to salt sensitivity or other factors that lead to hypertension. Two assumptions must be true if there is a genetic component: there must be a gene or group of genes that increase susceptibility, and this gene or genes must occur more frequently among blacks than whites. If there is a genetic component to high blood pressure among blacks, darker skinned blacks would presumably tend to have higher mean blood pressure than those with lighter skin. Data for 457 black Americans who were studied between 1972 and 1974 were analyzed to determine the effect of skin color, socioeconomic class, and other variables. Previous studies have come up with conflicting results, but many were flawed. A common failing was to measure skin color of the face, a poor indication of actual skin color after years of exposure. In this study, darker skin and higher blood pressure co-occurred among those of lower socioeconomic status, but for those of higher economic status, there was no association. Perhaps those at a lower socioeconomic level, skin color is a cause of psychosocial stress because of racism in this society. There seems to be a similar relationship between those with an ''active coping style,'' who are less likely than others to have normal blood pressure. Diet or socioeconomic stress may also interact with a genetic tendency that is more common among blacks with darker skin color. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Social aspects, Physiological aspects, Racism, Blacks, Black race

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The excess incidence of diabetic end-stage renal disease among blacks: a population-based study of potential explanatory factors

Article Abstract:

Black people may be more likely to develop end-stage renal (kidney) disease (ESRD) as a complication of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) than whites. Among 442 patients treated for ESRD caused by diabetes between 1980 and 1985, 284 (64%) had NIDDM and 158 (36%) had insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). The number of blacks treated for diabetic ESRD per year was approximately three times as high as the number of whites. Approximately twice as many blacks developed ESRD associated with IDDM per year as whites. The number of blacks who developed ESRD associated with NIDDM per year was more than four times the number of whites. These differences may be caused by factors other than the higher incidence of diabetes and hypertension among blacks than among whites or differences in socioeconomic status. Black patients with diabetes may be genetically predisposed towards developing complications affecting their kidneys.

Diseases, Diabetes, Diabetes mellitus

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End-stage renal disease in African-American and white men: 16-year MRFIT findings

Article Abstract:

High blood pressure and low socioeconomic status appear to account for the higher risk of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in African-American men when compared to white men. This was the conclusion of the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (MRFIT), which has followed 332,544 men since 1975. Of the total group, 20,222 are African-Americans. After an average of 16 years, the risk of ESRD in African-American men was about 3 times higher than in the white men. However, after adjusting for other factors, the risk was twice as high. High blood pressure and low income were strongly associated with ESRD.

Social status

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