Relationship between waking-sleep blood pressure and catecholamine changes in African-American and European-American women.
BACKGROUND
A blunted decline in waking to sleep blood pressure (BP) is more common in African-American (AA) than European-American (EA) women. The causes of reduced BP 'dipping' in AA women are not known, although several factors including ethnic differences in catecholamine sensitivity have been suggested. The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible contribution of catecholamine influences on BP to ethnic differences in BP dipping in a sample of working women.


METHODS
Healthy female participants wore ambulatory BP monitors over the course of 1 work day and night. Urine samples for assay of epinephrine and norepinephrine were collected at work (approximately 11.00-15.00 h), home (approximately 06.00-22.00 h) and during sleep (approximately 22.00-06.00 h). Analysis of covariance was used to assess the relationships between changes in BP and the catecholamines by ethnicity.


RESULTS
AA women (n=51; age=38.9+/-8.5 years) had smaller proportional BP changes from work to sleep and home to sleep than EA women (n=110; age=37.1+/-9.2 years). Overall, the work to sleep change in epinephrine excretion was positively associated with changes in both SBP (P<0.003) and DBP (P<0.001); however, there was an ethnic difference in the epinephrine-BP relationship. For AA women, these associations were highly positive and significant, but for EA women, there was little correlation. Nonetheless, the analysis also revealed that overall, the work to sleep BP changes were not directly related to ethnic differences in catecholamine variation.


CONCLUSIONS
The AA-EA difference in waking-sleep BP changes (dipping) is not directly related to ethnic differences in catecholamine variation; however, AA seem to have a greater BP sensitivity to epinephrine.
van Berge-Landry
Helene M
HM
Institute for Primary and Preventative Health Care, Department of Anthropology and Decker School of Nursing, Binghamton University, Binghamton, New York, NY 13906-6000, USA. hvanbergelandry@binghamton.edu
Bovbjerg
Dana H
DH
James
Gary D
GD
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D018660:Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory; D004837:Epinephrine / Q000652:urine*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000652:urine*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000208:ethnology; D044465:White People
D009638:Norepinephrine; D004837:Epinephrine
Hypertension. 1995 Jan;25(1):88-91
7843760
Blood Press Monit. 1997 Aug;2(4):155-159
10234109
Am J Hypertens. 2000 Aug;13(8):884-91
10950396
Bull Eur Physiopathol Respir. 1985 Sep-Oct;21(5):13s-18s
2998518
J Hypertens. 2003 Nov;21(11):2045-51
14597847
Biopharm Drug Dispos. 1988 Sep-Oct;9(5):447-56
3224162
Clin Pharmacol Ther. 1989 Jun;45(6):587-92
2543534
Am J Hypertens. 1991 Apr;4(4 Pt 1):382-4
2059397
Hypertension. 2000 Dec;36(6):945-51
11116105
Psychosom Med. 1993 Jan-Feb;55(1):55-60
8446742
Blood Press Monit. 2002 Oct;7(5):265-9
12409885
Am J Phys Anthropol. 1998 Jul;106(3):373-83
9696152
Am J Hypertens. 2002 Feb;15(2 Pt 1):111-8
11863245
Am J Hum Biol. 2001 Mar-Apr;13(2):268-74
11460873
Blood Press Monit. 2001 Aug;6(4):211-5
11805472
Hypertension. 1997 Jan;29(1 Pt 1):30-9
9039076
J Child Sex Abus. 2001;10(1):1-21
16221618
Blood Press Monit. 2000 Aug;5(4):217-21
11035863
Hypertension. 1989 Dec;14(6):598-603
2583796
Hypertens Res. 1996 Sep;19(3):195-200
8891748
J Hum Hypertens. 1990 Feb;4(1):43-7
2345386
Psychosom Med. 2000 May-Jun;62(3):394-400
10845353
Am J Hypertens. 1989 Oct;2(10):797-9
2803673
J Hum Hypertens. 1995 Oct;9(10):821-6
8576898
DICP. 1991 Jul-Aug;25(7-8):824-34
1683075
Blood Press Monit. 1999 Dec;4(6):303-17
10602535
N Engl J Med. 1981 Nov 12;305(20):1165-70
6270552
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2004 Aug;29(7):831-8
15177698
JAMA. 1982 Feb 19;247(7):992-6
7057592
Ann Behav Med. 2004 Aug;28(1):10-9
15249255
Int J Obes. 1991 May;15(5):345-57
1679424
Biol Psychol. 2005 May;69(2):167-79
15804544
Psychosom Med. 2002 Nov-Dec;64(6):906-15
12461196