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(Hypertension. 2002;39:203.)
© 2002 American Heart Association, Inc.

Scientific Contributions

Prevalence of Hypertension in Hispanic and non-Hispanic White Populations

Carlos Lorenzo; Manuel Serrano-Rios; Maria T. Martinez-Larrad; Rafael Gabriel; Ken Williams; Clicerio Gonzalez-Villalpando; Michael P. Stern; Helen P. Hazuda; Steven Haffner

From the Department of Medicine, Division of Clinical Epidemiology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (C.L., K.W., M.P.S., H.P.H., S.M.H.); Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Universitario de San Carlos (M.S-R., M.T.M-L.), Madrid, Spain; Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Hospital de La Princesa (R.G.), Madrid, Spain; and Center of Studies in Diabetes, American British Cowdray Hospital (C.G-V.), Mexico City, Mexico.

Correspondence to Carlos Lorenzo, MD, Department of Medicine, Division of Clinical Epidemiology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Dr, San Antonio, TX 78284-7873. E-mail lorenzo{at}uthscsa.edu

Mexican nationals in Mexico City and Mexican Americans in San Antonio, Tex, have a lower adjusted prevalence of hypertension than San Antonio non-Hispanic whites, especially after adjusting for the greater obesity of San Antonio Mexican Americans. The concomitant examination of a new study from Spain may better explain the association of genetic and environmental factors with hypertension. Three population-based epidemiological studies conducted in Mexico City, Spain, and San Antonio, Tex, were available for comparisons. Hypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure 140 mm Hg, diastolic blood pressure 90 mm Hg, or the use of antihypertensive medications. The prevalence of hypertension was independently associated with age, body mass index, glucose tolerance, and alcohol consumption, with comparable degrees of relationship in all 4 populations. Relative to San Antonio non-Hispanic whites, an excess prevalence of hypertension was observed in Spaniards (odds ratio [OR], 1.53; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.24 to 1.90). A deficit in hypertension prevalence was statistically significant in Mexican nationals (OR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.85) and close to significance in San Antonio Mexican Americans (OR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.71 to 1.03). Thus, obesity, educational attainment, type 2 diabetes, glucose tolerance, and marked alcohol consumption (14 drinks/wk) do not fully explain the increased prevalence of hypertension in Spain and the lower prevalence of hypertension in Mexican-origin populations. Although we cannot conclude definitively that these differences are genetically driven, our results suggest no relationship between Spanish genetic admixture and the deficit in hypertension prevalence in Mexican-origin populations.

Key Words: clinical trials • diabetes • obesity • epidemiology

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