HYPERTENSION, THERMOTOLERANCE, AND THE AFRICAN GENE - AN HYPOTHESIS

Hypertension is a polygenic disease of world-wide concern. So far, no polygenic disease has been solved at the genetic level. Ethnic differe nces in the prevalence of hypertension may suggest candidate genes wor thy of study. A strong genetic predisposition to hypertension and targ et organ damage appears to correlate with African ancestry, referred t o as ''the African gene.'' Sub-Saharan Africans have endured the selec tive pressure of extreme heat for thousands of generations. Polymorphi sms in the renin-angiotensin system, such as the recently described in sertion/deletion polymorphism in the angiotensin I converting enzyme ( ACE) gene, may predispose to hypertension and related disorders becaus e of an advantage they confer in thermoregulation.