title: Prevalence of hypertension in Hispanic and non-Hispanic white populations.
abstract: Mexican nationals in Mexico City and Mexican Americans in San Antonio, Tex, have a lower adjusted prevalence of hypertension than San Antonio non-Hispanic whites, especially after adjusting for the greater obesity of San Antonio Mexican Americans. The concomitant examination of a new study from Spain may better explain the association of genetic and environmental factors with hypertension. Three population-based epidemiological studies conducted in Mexico City, Spain, and San Antonio, Tex, were available for comparisons. Hypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure > or = 140 mm Hg, diastolic blood pressure > or = 90 mm Hg, or the use of antihypertensive medications. The prevalence of hypertension was independently associated with age, body mass index, glucose tolerance, and alcohol consumption, with comparable degrees of relationship in all 4 populations. Relative to San Antonio non-Hispanic whites, an excess prevalence of hypertension was observed in Spaniards (odds ratio [OR], 1.53; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.24 to 1.90). A deficit in hypertension prevalence was statistically significant in Mexican nationals (OR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.85) and close to significance in San Antonio Mexican Americans (OR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.71 to 1.03). Thus, obesity, educational attainment, type 2 diabetes, glucose tolerance, and marked alcohol consumption (> or = 14 drinks/wk) do not fully explain the increased prevalence of hypertension in Spain and the lower prevalence of hypertension in Mexican-origin populations. Although we cannot conclude definitively that these differences are genetically driven, our results suggest no relationship between Spanish genetic admixture and the deficit in hypertension prevalence in Mexican-origin populations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Clinical Epidemiology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 78284-7873, USA. lorenzo@uthscsa.edu
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lorenzo
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Serrano-Rios
authors.forename: Maria T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Martinez-Larrad
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gabriel
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Clicerio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gonzalez-Villalpando
authors.forename: Michael P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Stern
authors.forename: Helen P
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Hazuda
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Haffner
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications / Q000208:ethnology*; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D015995:Prevalence; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D013781:Texas / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People