title: Determinants of pulse pressure and annual rates of change in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of this study was to examine the effect of vascular and lifestyle risk factors on the annual rate of change in pulse pressure (PP) in a biracial, middle-aged cohort.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study population, drawn from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) cohort, included 10, 071 participants, aged 45-64 years at baseline, with a complete set of SBP and DBP readings at each of four visits 3 years apart. The average annual increase in PP was 1.23  mmHg [standard error (SE 0.01], after adjusting for baseline age differences. Compared with white men, African-American women had the highest rate of annual increase in PP (0.41 (SE 0.05) mmHg/year greater) followed by white women [0.23 (SE 0.03) mmHg/year greater] and African-American men [0.19 (SE 0.06) mmHg/year greater].
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There were significant differences in both average baseline PP and average annual rate of change in PP between men and women and African-Americans and whites. Diabetes and obesity had the strongest effect on the absolute value of baseline PP and the annual rate of change in PP.
authors.affiliation: University of Mississippi Medical Center, Department of Medicine, Jackson, Mississippi, USA.
authors.forename: Kenneth R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Butler
authors.forename: Alan D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Penman
authors.forename: Deborah S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Minor
authors.forename: Thomas H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Mosley
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D000367:Age Factors; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000503:physiopathology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D044465:White People