BLOOD-PRESSURE IN YOUNG-ADULTS WITH AND WITHOUT A PATERNAL HISTORY OFPREMATURE CORONARY HEART-DISEASE IN EUROPE - THE EARS STUDY

Objective: The European Arteriosclerosis Study (EARS) was designed to identify variables which discriminate subjects with a paternal history of premature coronary heart disease (CHD) from controls and to study the distribution of these variables across Europe. In this article we report on the blood pressure (BP) data. Design: Comparison of young in dividuals (18 to 26 years) from 14 different European universities wit h and without paternal history of premature (before 55) myocardial inf arction (MI). Subjects and methods: 1994 university students were recr uited, 682 with a positive paternal history of premature MI (cases) an d 1312 age and sex-matched controls. Following a rigid fieldwork and a nalyses protocol, data on life style, BP, anthropometric and analytica l measurements were obtained. Results: Only diastolic BP in female pat ients was different between cases and controls (P < 0.05). A significa ntly higher prevalence of high BP personal history in male cases than in controls was observed (P < 0.02). BP means showed significant regio nal differences with higher values in the northern and middle European countries respect to southern regions (P < 0.0001). BP values were po sitively correlated to body mass index (BMI) and waist to hip (W/H) ra tio, no correlations were observed with alcohol consumption in this ag e group. Tobacco showed a negative independent correlation with both s ystolic and diastolic BP (P < 0.0001). The use of contraceptive pills was associated with higher systolic (P < 0.0001) and diastolic (P < 0. 05) BP levels. After adjustment for covariants, only weak correlations were observed between BP, lipids and apolipoproteins. Apo E showed a positive correlation with BP. Lp(a) and fibrinogen showed no significa nt regression coefficients with BP. Among cholesterylesters, oleic aci d percentages were negatively correlated to BP values (mainly diastoli c BP: P < 0.001), while the correlation with linoleic acid was positiv e (P < 0.001). Fasting glucose levels showed an independent correlatio n with systolic BP (P < 0.0001) in a multiple regression analysis. Con clusions: In the group with paternal history of premature MI, the high er prevalence of personal history of high BP in males and the higher d iastolic BP values in females suggest that high BP could play a role i n the elevated CHD risk of this group. Epidemiological observations on BP distribution and its relation with anthropometric and biochemical covariants in a young group of age from different European countries a re reported.