Blood pressure among the Inuit (Eskimo) populations in the Arctic.
OBJECTIVE
Studies of blood pressure among various Inuit (Eskimo) populations in the Arctic have given inconsistent results. Most studies reported lower blood pressure among the Inuit as compared with the predominantly white national populations. This has been attributed to traditional subsistence practices and lifestyle. This study compared the blood pressure among the major Inuit population groups with other populations and examined the associations with factors like age, gender, obesity and smoking.


METHODS
The study comprised four Inuit populations from Alaska, Canada, and Greenland with participation rates ranging from 51% to 73%. In a cross-sectional design, 2,509 randomly selected adults from 31 villages were examined. Blood pressure, anthropometric measurements, smoking, and medication were recorded.


RESULTS
Mean systolic blood pressures ranged from 116 to 124 mm Hg among men and 110 to 118 among women in the four populations. Mean diastolic blood pressures ranged from 75 to 78 mm Hg among men and from 71 to 73 among women. Systolic blood pressure increased with age. Male gender, obesity, being a non-smoker, and being on anti-hypertensive treatment were associated with high systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Adjusted for age, body mass index, smoking, and anti-hypertensive treatment, blood pressure differed among the populations (p </= 0.001). Mean systolic blood pressure was low among the Inuit compared with most European populations of the INTERSALT study, but higher than in several Asian populations and the Amazonian Indians.


CONCLUSIONS
Inuit blood pressures rank intermediate on a global scale but low in comparison with most European populations. The Inuit population is not homogeneous, and this is reflected in blood pressure differences among the four regional subgroups. The role of the traditional diet, a rural lifestyle with a low level of psychosocial stress, and genetics must be further explored.
Bjerregaard
Peter
P
National Institute of Public Health, Svanemollevej 25, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark. p.bjerregaard@dadlnet.dk
Dewailly
Eric
E
Young
T Kue
TK
Blanchet
Carole
C
Hegele
Robert A
RA
Ebbesson
Sven E O
SE
Risica
Patricia M
PM
Mulvad
Gert
G
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000413:Alaska / Q000453:epidemiology; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001110:Arctic Regions / Q000453:epidemiology; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D014943:Global Health; D006116:Greenland / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D004930:Inuit / Q000235:genetics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications / Q000208:ethnology; D011792:Quebec / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000208:ethnology
D000959:Antihypertensive Agents