title: Ethnicity and arterial stiffness in Brazil.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The impact of increased central arterial stiffness as a predictor of morbidity and mortality, independently of other cardiovascular (CV) risk factors, has been established. The main aim of the present work was to investigate the association of ethnicity on arterial stiffness in different ethnic groups from the Brazilian population.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 1,427 individuals from the general population were randomly selected from the Vitoria City metropolitan area and 588 Amerindians from a native community in Brazil. The ethnicity of the general population was classified by a standard questionnaire as Caucasian descent, African descent, or Mulattos (considered racially mixed subjects). Pulse wave velocity (PWV) was measured with a noninvasive automatic device (Complior, Colson; Garges les Gonesses, France).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Hemodynamic data of PWV, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and mean blood pressure (MBP) was higher in African descent individuals than in the other groups (P < 0.001). These results were still observed after adjustment for age and mean arterial pressure (P < 0.001). In addition, studying only normotensive individuals, PWV adjusted levels were higher in African descent individuals, and lower in Amerindians when compared with other ethnic groups (P < 0.01), showing, without the possible confounder effects of time and severity of hypertension or medication use, that PWV is associated with ethnicity in our population.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study of different ethnic groups from a highly admixtured population was able to demonstrate an association between ethnicity and arterial stiffness.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Genetics and Molecular Cardiology, Heart Institute, University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Brazil.
authors.forename: Paulo Caleb Júnior de Lima
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Rafael de Oliveira
authors.initials: Rde O
authors.lastname: Alvim
authors.forename: Noely Evangelista
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: de Sá Cunha
authors.forename: José Eduardo
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Krieger
authors.forename: José Geraldo
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Mill
authors.forename: Alexandre Costa
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Pereira
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology*; D001794:Blood Pressure; D001938:Brazil / Q000208:ethnology; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004548:Elasticity; D005260:Female; D005263:Femoral Artery / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011673:Pulsatile Flow / Q000502:physiology*