Fat Intake, Serum Cholesterol Concentration, and Atherosclerosis in the South African Bantu. Part II. Atherosclerosis and Coronary Artery Disease

Blood Coagulation and Fibrinolysis in Relation to Coronary Heart Disease

“…It seemed to us that a more satisfactory contrast would be obtained by comparing the blood coagulation and fibrinolysis of white controls with Bantu subjects; the latter consume a relatively constant diet of low-fat content (Walker and Arvidsson, 1954;Bronte-Stewart et al, 1955); they very rarely present with clinical evidence of coronary heart di-Jease, and it is uncommon to find severe coronary atherosclerosis in them at necropsy (Higginson and Pepler, 1954;Brock and Gordon, 1959). In order to avoid as far as possible the effects of a " white " environment, subjects were selected from those who had been living in the native territories and who had only just arrived in Capetown.…”

Nutrition and Nutritional Deficiency Diseases

“…This impression has been confi rmed by studies reported by Higgin son & Pepler (1). Such observations and the impression that high fat diets, obesity, and a high incidence of arteriosclerosis go hand-in-hand, particu larly in the United States, have stimulated numerous studies on these aspects of the arteriosclerosis problem.…”

Ischaemic Heart Disease in African Populations

“…It can only be regarded as a minor factor, however, because in most of the studies described above, the inter-racial disparity was as striking in the younger age-groups as in the older. Thus, in the pathological survey in Johannesburg (Higginson and Pepler, 1954), the incidence of Grade 3 (i.e. severe) coronary and aortic atherosclerosis in Bantu men of the fourth decade was only 3 per cent., as against 32 per cent.…”

“…The Pathology of Ischaemic Heart Disease in Africa Donnison (i929) was among the first to draw attention to the rarity of arteriosclerosis in the African races, but he was under the impression, certainly erroneous to-day, that hypertension was rare. Since then, pathologists from many parts of Africa have reported their experience, and data are available from Kenya (Vint, 1937), Uganda (Davis, 1948), Northern Rhodesia (Hannah, 1958) and Johannesburg (Becker, 1946;Higginson and Pepler, I954). It is not always easy to compare the findings of these workers; different standards for grading severity have been used and a clear distinction between atherosclerosis of the coronary arteries, of the aorta and of other vascular territories has not always been made; nor has allowance always been made for the modifying effects of syphilis and hypertension, both of which are common in the Bantu.…”