Blood pressure in Nigerian college males

Hypertension is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in US black populations. There are however limited data available on college educated blacks in either the United States or Africa. The purpose of the present study was to examine blood pressure and its correlates in a Nigerian college population in comparison with US data. The study population comprised 211 Nigerian male college students (mean age, 20.9 years). The means and standard deviations for systolic and diastolic blood pressures among the Nigerians were 119.9 (12.6) and 73.3 (10.0) mm Hg, respectively. Weight, height, and body mass index means for the Nigerians were 133.6 pounds, 68.5 inches, and 20.1 kg/m2, respectively. Compared with US college-educated blacks, the Nigerians had higher systolic blood pressures but were leaner than their US counterparts. There was however a significant positive correlation between weight and systolic blood pressure for the Nigerians, which was similar to that observed among US college students. These data suggest that in a lean population, the Nigerian males' weight is still an important correlate of blood pressure as is seen in the US.