Prehypertensive African-American women have preserved nitric oxide and renal function but high cardiovascular risk.
OBJECTIVE
African-Americans, in particular women, exhibit disproportionate levels of hypertension, inflammation, and oxidative stress compared to other ethnic groups. The relationship between prehypertension, renal function, inflammation, and oxidative stress was examined.


METHODS
Twenty-eight African-American women (53.5 +/- 1.1 years) followed an AHA diet and then underwent 24-hour ambulatory BP (ABP) monitoring. Urinary albumin (uAlb), serum and urinary creatinine, glomerular filtration rate (GFR), 24-hour urinary Na(+) excretion, plasma superoxide dismutase, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), urinary (uNOx) and plasma (pNOx) nitric oxide levels, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) were measured.


RESULTS
When the group was divided by average 24-hour ABP into optimal and nonoptimal groups, a significant difference existed between the groups for uNOx (p = 0.001; nonoptimal: 933.5 +/- 140.4, optimal: 425.0 +/- 52.6 mumol/gCr), and for hsCRP (p = 0.018, nonoptimal: 3.9 +/- 0.7, optimal: 1.9 +/- 0.6 mg/l). Significant inverse relationships existed between hsCRP and uNOx and between uAlb and pNOx in the non-optimal group, between GFR and pNOx in the entire group, and positive association existed between TAC and uNOx in the optimal group.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that in African-American women as BP levels rise toward hypertension, the NO/NOS balance may be associated with renal function, and may have implications for CV risk based on their hsCRP levels.
Feairheller
Deborah L
DL
Hypertension, Molecular and Applied Physiology Laboratory, Department of Kinesiology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA. dfeairheller@gmail.com
Sturgeon
Kathleen M
KM
Diaz
Keith M
KM
Veerabhadrappa
Praveen
P
Williamson
Sheara T
ST
Crabbe
Deborah L
DL
Brown
Michael D
MD
D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000419:Albuminuria / Q000208:ethnology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005919:Glomerular Filtration Rate; D006801:Humans; D006977:Hypertension, Renal / Q000208:ethnology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D015994:Incidence; D007668:Kidney / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism*; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000502:physiology; D058246:Prehypertension / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000097:blood
D009569:Nitric Oxide; D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase