Association between blood pressure and some other cardiovascular disease risk factors in a lean black population

Blood pressures, serum total cholesterol levels, blood glucose levels, anthropometric parameters and ages of five hundred and thirty eight adult Nigerians, living in two localities were measured using standard protocol. The mean age of the subjects was 50.5 ± 10.8 years while their mean body mass index (BMI) was 24.9 ± 5.0 kg/m2. Hypertensive subjects who had desirable serum total cholesterol levels had lower systolic blood pressure (SBP) (152.33 ± 19.55 mmHg, for males, and 145.60 ± 18.64 mmHg, for females) compared to those who had undesirable serum total cholesterol levels (174.02 ± 24.93 mmHg, for males, and 177.65 ± 31.11 mmHg, for females). For normotensive subjects, serum total cholesterol status did not significantly affect SBP. SBP in the hypertensive subjects was highest in the overweight group (159.17 ± 25.31 mmHg) and lowest in the obese group (150.69 ± 20.14 mmHg). In normotensive subjects, SBP did not change markedly between the BMI groups. Data on the effects of age and blood glucose levels are presented. Risk factors for hypertension may not affect individuals with and without the disorder linearly. The underlying mechanistic processes that link changes in these risk factors to their physiological consequences for blood pressure elevation and regulation deserve more attention.