Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Original Article
  • Published:

Relationship between hypertension and admixture in post-menopausal African American and Hispanic American women

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 26, pages 365–373 (2012)Cite this article

Abstract

To assess the relationship between ethnicity and hypertension using individual admixture and blood pressure measurements, we performed a cross-sectional study of African American and Hispanic American (HA) women enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative. The admixture odds ratio for systolic and diastolic hypertensive risk was determined using linear regression models in which the proportional measurements of European (EUR), sub-Saharan African (AFR) and Amerindian (AMI) admixture was analyzed using ancestry informative markers. In both African-American women (n=10 147) and HA women (n=4908) there was a significant positive association between hypertension and African admixture (P<10−4). This relationship was observed for both systolic and diastolic hypertension examined as a continuous or dichotomous trait, and whether age, body mass index, years since menopause and a measurement of socioeconomic status were used as covariates. The odds ratio associated with AFR admixture in a dichotomous model of hypertension was 3.06 (95% confidence interval 2.72–3.45). AMI admixture was associated with lower odds of hypertension and appeared to be more protective, relative to EUR admixture. These data show that African admixture increases the risk for hypertension and provide additional support for evaluating therapeutic efficacy and conducting genetic analyses of hypertension in different ethnic groups.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Hodgson TA, Cai L . Medical care expenditures for hypertension, its complications, and its comorbidities. Med Care 2001; 39 (6): 599–615.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Ong KL, Cheung BM, Man YB, Lau CP, Lam KS . Prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension among United States adults 1999-2004. Hypertension 2007; 49 (1): 69–75.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Fields LE, Burt VL, Cutler JA, Hughes J, Roccella EJ, Sorlie P . The burden of adult hypertension in the United States 1999 to 2000: a rising tide. Hypertension 2004; 44 (4): 398–404.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Cooper RS, Liao Y, Rotimi C . Is hypertension more severe among US blacks, or is severe hypertension more common? Ann Epidemiol 1996; 6 (3): 173–180.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Young JH, Chang YP, Kim JD, Chretien JP, Klag MJ, Levine MA et al. Differential susceptibility to hypertension is due to selection during the out-of-Africa expansion. PLoS Genet 2005; 1 (6): e82.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Zhu X, Luke A, Cooper RS, Quertermous T, Hanis C, Mosley T et al. Admixture mapping for hypertension loci with genome-scan markers. Nat Genet 2005; 37 (2): 177–181.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Deo RC, Patterson N, Tandon A, McDonald GJ, Haiman CA, Ardlie K et al. A high-density admixture scan in 1,670 African Americans with hypertension. PLoS Genet 2007; 3 (11): e196.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. Tang H, Jorgenson E, Gadde M, Kardia SL, Rao DC, Zhu X et al. Racial admixture and its impact on BMI and blood pressure in African and Mexican Americans. Hum Genet 2006; 119 (6): 624–633.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Design of the Women's Health Initiative clinical trial and observational study. The Women's Health Initiative Study Group. Control Clin Trials 1998; 19 (1): 61–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Levy D, Ehret GB, Rice K, Verwoert GC, Launer LJ, Dehghan A et al. Genome-wide association study of blood pressure and hypertension. Nat Genet 2009; 41: 677–687.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  11. Cui JS, Hopper JL, Harrap SB . Antihypertensive treatments obscure familial contributions to blood pressure variation. Hypertension 2003; 41 (2): 207–210.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Whitsel EA, Quibrera PM, Smith RL, Catellier DJ, Liao D, Henley AC et al. Accuracy of commercial geocoding: assessment and implications. Epidemiol Perspect Innov 2006; 3: 8.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  13. Cho GJ, Lee JH, Park HT, Shin JH, Hong SC, Kim T et al. Postmenopausal status according to years since menopause as an independent risk factor for the metabolic syndrome. Menopause 2008; 15 (3): 524–529.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Kosoy R, Nassir R, Tian C, White PA, Butler LM, Silva G et al. Ancestry informative marker sets for determining continental origin and admixture proportions in common populations in America. Hum Mutat 2009; 30 (1): 69–78.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  15. Falush D, Stephens M, Pritchard JK . Inference of population structure using multilocus genotype data: linked loci and correlated allele frequencies. Genetics 2003; 164 (4): 1567–1587.

    CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  16. Kershaw KN, Diez Roux AV, Carnethon M, Darwin C, Goff Jr DC, Post W et al. Geographic variation in hypertension prevalence among blacks and whites: the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis. Am J Hypertens 2010; 23 (1): 46–53.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Lloyd-Jones DM, Sutton-Tyrrell K, Patel AS, Matthews KA, Pasternak RC, Everson-Rose SA et al. Ethnic variation in hypertension among premenopausal and perimenopausal women: Study of Women's Health Across the Nation. Hypertension 2005; 46 (4): 689–695.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Yang N, Li H, Criswell LA, Gregersen PK, Alarcon-Riquelme ME, Kittles R et al. Examination of ancestry and ethnic affiliation using highly informative diallelic DNA markers: application to diverse and admixed populations and implications for clinical epidemiology and forensic medicine. Hum Genet 2005; 118 (3–4): 382–392.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Bonilla C, Shriver MD, Parra EJ, Jones A, Fernandez JR . Ancestral proportions and their association with skin pigmentation and bone mineral density in Puerto Rican women from New York City. Hum Genet 2004; 115 (1): 57–68.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Choudhry S, Coyle NE, Tang H, Salari K, Lind D, Clark SL et al. Population stratification confounds genetic association studies among Latinos. Hum Genet 2006; 118 (5): 652–664.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Sundquist J, Winkleby MA, Pudaric S . Cardiovascular disease risk factors among older black, Mexican-American, and white women and men: an analysis of NHANES III, 1988-1994. Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. J Am Geriatr Soc 2001; 49 (2): 109–116.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Vergara C, Wang F, Banfi V . Hypertension in Puerto Ricans in the Continental United States. P R Health Sci J 2008; 27 (3): 247–255.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Lin H, Bermudez OI, Falcon LM, Tucker KL . Hypertension among Hispanic elders of a Caribbean origin in Massachusetts. Ethn Dis 2002; 12 (4): 499–507.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Lai CQ, Tucker KL, Choudhry S, Parnell LD, Mattei J, Garcia-Bailo B et al. Population admixture associated with disease prevalence in the Boston Puerto Rican health study. Hum Genet 2009; 125 (2): 199–209.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Lee ET, Howard BV, Savage PJ, Cowan LD, Fabsitz RR, Oopik AJ et al. Diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance in three American Indian populations aged 45–74 years. The Strong Heart Study. Diabetes Care 1995; 18 (5): 599–610.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Saad MF, Knowler WC, Pettitt DJ, Nelson RG, Mott DM, Bennett PH . Insulin and hypertension. Relationship to obesity and glucose intolerance in Pima Indians. Diabetes 1990; 39 (11): 1430–1435.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Broussard BA, Valway SE, Kaufman S, Beaver S, Gohdes D . Clinical hypertension and its interaction with diabetes among American Indians and Alaska Natives. Estimated rates from ambulatory care data. Diabetes Care 1993; 16 (1): 292–296.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Howard BV, Lee ET, Yeh JL, Go O, Fabsitz RR, Devereux RB et al. Hypertension in adult American Indians. The Strong Heart Study. Hypertension 1996; 28 (2): 256–264.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Allison MA, Peralta CA, Wassel CL, Aboyans V, Arnett DK, Cushman M et al. Genetic ancestry and lower extremity peripheral arterial disease in the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis. Vasc Med 2010; 15 (5): 351–359.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  30. Tin LL, Beevers DG, Lip GY . Systolic vs diastolic blood pressure and the burden of hypertension. J Hum Hypertens 2002; 16 (3): 147–150.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Blacher J, Staessen JA, Girerd X, Gasowski J, Thijs L, Liu L et al. Pulse pressure not mean pressure determines cardiovascular risk in older hypertensive patients. Arch Intern Med 2000; 160 (8): 1085–1089.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Vaccarino V, Holford TR, Krumholz HM . Pulse pressure and risk for myocardial infarction and heart failure in the elderly. J Am Coll Cardiol 2000; 36 (1): 130–138.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Davidson KW, Haas DC, Shimbo D, Pickering TG, Jonas BS . Standardizing the comparison of systolic blood pressure vs. pulse pressure for predicting coronary heart disease. J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich) 2006; 8 (6): 411–413.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Lawes CM, Bennett DA, Parag V, Woodward M, Whitlock G, Lam TH et al. Blood pressure indices and cardiovascular disease in the Asia Pacific region: a pooled analysis. Hypertension 2003; 42 (1): 69–75.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Bangalore S, Messerli FH, Franklin SS, Mancia G, Champion A, Pepine CJ . Pulse pressure and risk of cardiovascular outcomes in patients with hypertension and coronary artery disease: an INternational VErapamil SR-trandolapril STudy (INVEST) analysis. Eur Heart J 2009; 30 (11): 1395–1401.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Sacks FM, Svetkey LP, Vollmer WM, Appel LJ, Bray GA, Harsha D et al. Effects on blood pressure of reduced dietary sodium and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet. DASH-Sodium Collaborative Research Group. N Engl J Med 2001; 344 (1): 3–10.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Tian C, Gregersen PK, Seldin MF . Accounting for ancestry: population substructure and genome-wide association studies. Hum Mol Genet 2008; 17 (R2): R143–R150.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  38. Gupta AK, Poulter NR, Dobson J, Eldridge S, Cappuccio FP, Caulfield M et al. Ethnic differences in blood pressure response to first and second-line antihypertensive therapies in patients randomized in the ASCOT Trial. Am J Hypertens 2010; 23 (9): 1023–1030.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Brown MJ . Hypertension and ethnic group. BMJ 2006; 332 (7545): 833–836.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  40. Khan JM, Beevers DG . Management of hypertension in ethnic minorities. Heart 2005; 91 (8): 1105–1109.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank the participants of the WHI and acknowledge the contributions of WHI investigators for the development of study materials (Supplemental Acknowledgements available in online Supplementary Information). The study design was approved by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) as part of a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for the WHI. The WHI provided access to clinical data and DNA samples under appropriate Institutional Review Board approval. The WHI Publication and Presentation Committee reviewed and approved the paper for submission. The NHLBI was not otherwise involved in the design and conduct of the study, or in the analysis of data or preparation of the paper. This work was supported by NHLBI BAA Contract No. HHSN268200764319C for enhancement of WIH studies. The WHI program is funded by the NHLBI, National Institutes of Health, US Department of Health and Human Services through contracts N01WH22110, 24152, 32100-2, 32105-6, 32108-9, 32111-13, 32115, 32118-32119, 32122, 42107-26, 42129-32 and 44221.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, USA

    R Kosoy, R Nassir, R Shigeta & M F Seldin

  2. Department of Internal Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA, USA

    R Kosoy, R Nassir, R Shigeta, J Robbins & M F Seldin

  3. Department of Public Health Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA, USA

    L Qi & L Garcia

  4. Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA

    M Allison

Authors
  1. R Kosoy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. L Qi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. R Nassir
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. L Garcia
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. M Allison
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. R Shigeta
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. J Robbins
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. M F Seldin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M F Seldin.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Supplementary Information accompanies the paper on the Journal of Human Hypertension website

Supplementary information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kosoy, R., Qi, L., Nassir, R. et al. Relationship between hypertension and admixture in post-menopausal African American and Hispanic American women. J Hum Hypertens 26, 365–373 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/jhh.2011.52

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/jhh.2011.52

Keywords

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links