title: Angiotensinogen and blood pressure among blacks: findings from a community survey in Jamaica.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the association between blood pressure, angiotensinogen levels, angiotensin converting enzyme activity and polymorphisms of the angiotensinogen and angiotensin converting enzyme genes in a population-based sample.
  
  
  METHODS
  Five hundred participants were recruited in a house-to-house survey of three communities in metropolitan areas of Kingston and St Andrew, in Jamaica. Demographic data, anthropometric and blood pressure measurements were obtained for each participant during a brief clinic visit. Circulating levels of angiotensinogen and angiotensin converting enzyme activity were measured in venous blood samples. Polymorphisms of the angiotensinogen and angiotensin converting enzyme genes were determined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A weak association between angiotensinogen level, angiotensin converting enzyme activity and blood pressure was identified in this population, but substantial joint effect of angiotensin converting enzyme activity and angiotensinogen level on blood pressure was apparent. Variants of the angiotensinogen gene had inconsistent effects on blood pressure and on the risk of hypertension. Angiotensinogen level and angiotensin converting enzyme activity were significantly related to several measures of obesity, including body mass index, waist circumference and skin fold thickness.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The angiotensinogen and angiotensin converting enzyme genetic variants which were studied appear to have only a modest relationship with blood pressure and associated anthropometric risk factors among blacks.
authors.affiliation: Tropical Metabolism Research Unit, University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Forrester
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: McFarlane-Anderson
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bennet
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wilks
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Puras
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rotimi
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Durazo
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tewksbury
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Morrison
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000808:Angiotensinogen / Q000097:blood*; D001483:Base Sequence; D044383:Black People; D001794:Blood Pressure; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D007703:Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D000808:Angiotensinogen; D007703:Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A