Similarity of Blood Pressure in Blacks, Whites and Asians in England: The Birmingham Factory Study

Ethnic differences in blood pressure and the prevalence of hypertension in England

“…South-Asian men in this study were not at increased risk of hypertension compared with Caucasians. Thus, the present findings from the third largest UK cohort are consistent with the majority of previous studies which have found an increased prevalence of hypertension and/or higher mean blood pressures among Afro-Caribbeans, [4][5][6][7][8][9][10]12,13,15,17,[19][20][21] but not among South-Asians, 6,9,10,12,13 in both the US and the…”

“…In conclusion, the present findings are consistent with community studies from the US [5][6][7][8][9][10] and the majority of previous population-based studies from the UK which have found an increased prevalence of hypertension and/or higher mean blood pressures among Afro-Caribbeans, 12,13,15,17,[19][20][21] but not among South-Asians. 12,14,18,[20][21] CVD is largely preventable by reduction of modifiable risk factors.…”

“…12,13,17,19,21 However, Caucasians had higher rates of smoking 13,[18][19][20][21] and consumed more units of alcohol per week on average than either Afro-Caribbeans or SouthAsians. 13,18,20,21 Nevertheless, after controlling for risk factors such as age, BMI, smoking, and alcohol consumption, ethnic variation in the prevalence of hypertension could not be explained by these variables in the present study.…”

“…The methods for both the Birmingham Factory Screen project 12 and INTERSALT have been described in more detail elsewhere. The data were collected over a period of 20 years, in the late 1970s and mid 1980s, but with identical methods employed in all three studies.…”

“…In order to explain the ethnic differences in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, various population-based studies in the UK have investigated ethnic differences in cardiovascular risk, in particular hypertension. 11,12 In the majority of these studies, comparisons with Caucasians revealed significantly higher mean blood pressure levels amongst both Afro-Caribbean populations [15][16][17]20,21 and South-Asian men, 15,16,20,21 and a higher prevalence of hypertension among both Afro-Caribbeans 12,13 and South-Asians. [18][19][20][21] However, four other British studies have reported no significant differences in mean blood pressures among the three main ethnic groups.…”