Arterial stiffness in black adults from Angola and Brazil

• Published in: The journal of clinical hypertension (Greenwich, Conn.) Vol. 22; no. 8; pp. 1469 - 1475
• Main Authors: Cruz, Vitória P. D., Gonzaga, Carla W. O., Silva, Victor B., Cruz, André F. P., Silva, Amilcar B. Tomé, Capingana, Daniel P., Magalhães, Pedro, Zaniqueli, Divanei A., Guimarães, André L. S., Cunha, Roberto Sá, Mill, José Geraldo, Baldo, Marcelo P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States John Wiley and Sons Inc 01.08.2020
• Subjects: Adult; African Americans; Angola - epidemiology; Arterial Stiffness; Blood Pressure; Brazil - epidemiology; Cross-Sectional Studies; ethnicity; Female; Humans; Hypertension - diagnosis; Hypertension - epidemiology; Male; Original Paper; Pulse Wave Analysis; pulse wave velocity; sex differences; Vascular Stiffness; Brazil; Angola; arterial stiffness; blood pressure; ethnicity; pulse wave velocity; sex differences
• DOI: 10.1111/jch.13962
• ISSN: 1524-6175; 1751-7176

Ethnicity is an important determinant of blood pressure levels, being black individuals affected more than any other ethnic group. Arterial stiffening, an independent risk factor for hypertension, is also influenced by ethnicity. However, whether black individuals from different continents would have different patterns of arterial stiffening is still unknown. Thus, the authors aimed to compare pulse wave velocity (PWV) in black subjects living in Angola and Brazil. A total of 677 black individuals from two independent cross‐sectional studies conducted in Brazil and Angola were included in this analysis. Carotid‐to‐femoral PWV was measured following the same protocols for both studies, as well as clinical and anthropometric variables. Adjusted PWV was higher in Brazilian blacks than in Angolans, regardless of sex (men from Brazil: 10.7 ± 1.8 vs men from Angola: 9.9 ± 1.8 m/s, P < .001; women from Brazil: 10.3 ± 1.5 vs women from Angola: 9.2 ± 1.3 m/s, P < .001). Although the cf‐PWV was higher in Brazilian blacks, the age‐related increase in cf‐PWV was higher in Angolan men compared to Brazilians, but not in women. SBP showed the strongest association with cf‐PWV, regardless of sex and country. However, age was associated with cf‐PWV in all groups, except in Brazilian men. Our results clearly show a difference in PWV between two black populations, and highlight for sex differences in the hemodynamic parameters that might affect blood pressure levels in these populations.