Ethnic Disparities in Blood Pressure: A Population-based Study

Taiwan's indigenous population exhibits a higher mortality of cardiovascular disease, but current research has not reported any associations among ethnicities on the blood pressure (BP). We randomly selected representative samples in this population-based study. We measured height, weight, hip and waist circumferences, and blood pressure in a screening survey. Systolic BP and diastolic BP were significantly higher in the indigenous population. Among women, prevalence rates of DBP > 90 mmHg among indigenes (32.9 %) were significantly high than those in Han Chinese (17.4 %). Based on multivariate analysis adjusted for covariates, the results showed gender and ethnicity to be significantly correlated with systolic and diastolic BP. Gender was a modifier between ethnicity and BP. Furthermore, we found an additive effect between ethnicity and age on systolic and diastolic BP by gender. Our study showed independent additive effects on systolic BP and diastolic BP between ethnicity and age by gender.