0
ARTICLE |

Skin Color and Blood Pressure: Title and subTitle BreakGenetics or Environment? FREE

Robert F. Murray, Jr, MD
[+] Author Affiliations

Reprint requests to Department of Pediatrics, Division of Medical Genetics, Howard University College of Medicine, Box 75, Washington, DC 20059 (Dr Murray).


JAMA. 1991;265(5):639-640. doi:10.1001/jama.1991.03460050093028
Text Size: A A A
Published online

What possible basis could there be for the association between the amount of melanin in the skin and increased blood pressure that has been found by a number of investigators? The Table summarizes the findings of some of the studies of this association that have been reported since 1970.1 Three of these studies1-3 showed a positive association between the degree of pigmentation and level of blood pressure, while two reports by Keil et al4,5 showed that blood pressure was associated with education and social class but not the degree of skin pigmentation.

The study by Klag et al6 in this issue of The Journal has added to the literature on this topic by studying the blood pressure—skin pigmentation association in a much more controlled fashion. This relationship has been controlled for environmental factors previously demonstrated to contribute to elevated blood pressure. These variables include obesity, blood

REFERENCES

Boyle E Jr.  Biological patterns in hypertension by race, sex, body weight, and skin color . JAMA. 1970;;213:1637-1643.
Harburg E, Cleibermann L, Roeper P, Schork MA, Schull WJ.  Skin color, ethnicity and blood pressure, I: Detroit blacks . Am J Public Health . 1978;;68:1177.
Sorlie PD, Garcia-Palmieri MR, Costas R.  Left ventricular hypertrophy among dark- and light-skinned Puerto Rican men: the Puerto Rico Heart Health Program . Am Heart J. 1988;;116:777-783.
Keil JE, Tyroler HA, Sandifer SH, Boyle E.  Hypertension: effects of social class and racial admixture . Am J Public Health . 1977;;67:634-639.
Keil JE, Sandifer SH, Loadholt CB, Boyle E Jr.  Skin color and education effects on blood pressure . Am J Public Health . 1981;;71:532-534.
Klag MJ, Whelton PK, Coresh J, Grim CE, Kuller LH.  The association of skin color with blood pressure in US blacks with low socioeconomic status . JAMA. 1991;;265:599-602.
Etkin NL, Mahoney JR, Forsthoefel MW, et al.  Racial differences in hypertension-associated red cell sodium permeability . Nature . 1982;;297:588-589.
Grim CE.  On slavery, salt and the greater prevalence of hypertension in black Americans . Presented at the American Heart Association 15th Annual Science Writers Forum; January 18-20,1988 ; New Orleans, La.
Engerman SL, Genovese ED. Race and Slavery in the Western Hemisphere: Quantitative Studies . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press; 1975;.
Drummond PD.  Personality traits in young males at risk for hypertension . J Psychosom Res. 1982;;26:585-589.
Cottington EM, Brock BM, House JS, Hawthorne VM.  Psychosocial factors and blood presssure in Michigan statewide blood pressure survey . Am J Epidemiol. 1985;;121:515-529.
Johnson EH, Schork NJ, Spielberger CD. J Psychosom Res. 1987;;31:731-741.

Figures

Tables

Interactive Graphics

Video

Country-Specific Mortality and Growth Failure in Infancy and Yound Children and Association With Material Stature

Use interactive graphics and maps to view and sort country-specific infant and early dhildhood mortality and growth failure data and their association with maternal

Boyle E Jr.  Biological patterns in hypertension by race, sex, body weight, and skin color . JAMA. 1970;;213:1637-1643.
Harburg E, Cleibermann L, Roeper P, Schork MA, Schull WJ.  Skin color, ethnicity and blood pressure, I: Detroit blacks . Am J Public Health . 1978;;68:1177.
Sorlie PD, Garcia-Palmieri MR, Costas R.  Left ventricular hypertrophy among dark- and light-skinned Puerto Rican men: the Puerto Rico Heart Health Program . Am Heart J. 1988;;116:777-783.
Keil JE, Tyroler HA, Sandifer SH, Boyle E.  Hypertension: effects of social class and racial admixture . Am J Public Health . 1977;;67:634-639.
Keil JE, Sandifer SH, Loadholt CB, Boyle E Jr.  Skin color and education effects on blood pressure . Am J Public Health . 1981;;71:532-534.
Klag MJ, Whelton PK, Coresh J, Grim CE, Kuller LH.  The association of skin color with blood pressure in US blacks with low socioeconomic status . JAMA. 1991;;265:599-602.
Etkin NL, Mahoney JR, Forsthoefel MW, et al.  Racial differences in hypertension-associated red cell sodium permeability . Nature . 1982;;297:588-589.
Grim CE.  On slavery, salt and the greater prevalence of hypertension in black Americans . Presented at the American Heart Association 15th Annual Science Writers Forum; January 18-20,1988 ; New Orleans, La.
Engerman SL, Genovese ED. Race and Slavery in the Western Hemisphere: Quantitative Studies . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press; 1975;.
Drummond PD.  Personality traits in young males at risk for hypertension . J Psychosom Res. 1982;;26:585-589.
Cottington EM, Brock BM, House JS, Hawthorne VM.  Psychosocial factors and blood presssure in Michigan statewide blood pressure survey . Am J Epidemiol. 1985;;121:515-529.
Johnson EH, Schork NJ, Spielberger CD. J Psychosom Res. 1987;;31:731-741.
CME Course for:


You need to register in order to view this quiz.


To understand the clinical management of acute heart failure syndromes.
Accreditation Information The American Medical Association is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
The AMA designates this journal-based CME activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditTM per course. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Physicians who complete the CME course and score at least 80% correct on the quiz are eligible for AMA PRA Category 1 CreditTM.
Note: You must get at least of the answers correct to pass this quiz.
Note: You must get at least of the answers correct to pass this quiz.
You have not filled in all the answers to complete this quiz
The following questions were not answered:
Sorry, you have unsuccessfully completed this CME quiz with a score of
The following questions were not answered correctly:
For CME Course: A Proposed Model for Initial Assessment and Management of Acute Heart Failure Syndromes
Indicate what changes(s) you will implement in your practice, if any, based on this CME course.
To view and print your certificate and access a summary of your CME courses go to My CME.
NOTE:
Citing articles are presented as examples only. In non-demo SCM6 implementation, integration with CrossRef’s “Cited By” API will populate this tab (http://www.crossref.org/citedby.html).
Submit a Response

Some tools below are only available to our subscribers or users with an online account.

Related Content

Customize your page view by dragging & repositioning the boxes below.