Association between levels of blood pressure and measures of subclinical disease multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis.
BACKGROUND
High blood pressure (BP) is associated with the presence and severity of subclinical disease. Less is known about associations between normal levels of BP and various measures of subclinical disease.


METHODS
The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) enrolled 6814 participants free of clinical cardiovascular disease (38% white, 28% African American, 22% Hispanic, and 12% Asian). The baseline examination included standardized measures of BP, common carotid intimal-medial thickness determined by ultrasonography, coronary artery calcium by computed tomography, and left ventricular mass by magnetic resonance imaging. Participants with treated hypertension (n = 2173) were excluded. Statistical methods included analysis of variance, linear regression, and chi(2) tests.


RESULTS
Among the 4640 participants, BP was strongly related to age and African American ethnicity. Carotid intimal-medial thickness was directly associated with systolic BP (SBP) and inversely associated with diastolic BP (DBP, P < .001 for both). For SBP in men, for instance, the adjusted regression coefficient was 0.058 mm per 1 SD (21 mm Hg; 95% CI, 0.045 to 0.070), and for SBP in women it was 0.043 (95% CI, 0.033 to 0.052). Left ventricular mass was directly related to SBP and DBP. The proportion with non-zero calcium scores increased with SBP but decreased with DBP.


CONCLUSIONS
The range of BP examined in this study fell largely within the normal or prehypertension stage. In cross-sectional analysis of data from a population-based study, these untreated levels of BP were associated with a variety of measures of subclinical cardiovascular disease.
Psaty
Bruce M
BM
Cardiovascular Health Research Unit, Department of Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Services, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98101, USA. psaty@u.washington.edu
Arnold
Alice M
AM
Olson
Jean
J
Saad
Mohammed F
MF
Shea
Steven
S
Post
Wendy
W
Burke
Gregory L
GL
D001741:Black or African American; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001213:Asian; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D017536:Carotid Artery, Common / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D015331:Cohort Studies; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology*; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014463:Ultrasonography; D044465:White People