title: Twenty-four-hour blood pressure changes in young Somalian blacks after migration to Italy.
abstract: Blood pressure changes induced by migration from Somalia to Italy were studied in 25 normotensive clinical healthy blacks (aged 29 +/- 6 years) who had immigrated from Mogadishu to Florence. Basal and 24-h ambulatory blood pressure, venous compliance, and daily urinary electrolyte excretion were measured on arrival and 6 months later. After 6 months both basal pressure (P < .05 for systolic blood pressure, P < .01 for diastolic blood pressure) and 24-h blood pressure (P < .004 for systolic blood pressure, P < .01 for diastolic blood pressure) had significantly increased. Urinary sodium excretion had also increased (P < .001), whereas plasma renin activity was significantly reduced (P < .05). The ambulatory pressure increase was significantly related to the urinary sodium increase (r = 0.49; P < .01). At follow-up 8 of 25 blacks were hypertensive according to the WHO definition (basal diastolic blood pressure > 90 mm Hg). In conclusion, an increase in 24-h blood pressure is detectable after immigration and changes seems to be mainly related to higher sodium intake in the Western diet.
authors.affiliation: Clinica Medica I, University of Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Modesti
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tamburini
authors.forename: M I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Hagi
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Cecioni
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Migliorini
authors.forename: G G
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Neri Serneri
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D018660:Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology*; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012998:Somalia / Q000208:ethnology