CIRCADIAN-RHYTHM OF HYPERTENSIVES IN A CAMEROON POPULATION - A PILOT-STUDY

The present study was designed to determine diurnal blood pressure (BP ) variations in black hypertensive Africans in Cameroon. Also the stud y assessed sex differences associated with ambulatory BP measurements in this black population. A total of 69 adult Cameroonians aged 25-55 years, who attended a hypertensive clinic in Yaounde, Cameroon, were r ecruited on a voluntary basis. The mean ages of the males and females were 48.9 and 45.8 years, respectively. Ambulatory BP monitoring was r ecorded with Space-labs ICR Model 5300 ambulatory BP monitoring system s. SBP, DBP and heart rate were measured every 30 min over a 24 h peri od. There were no significant mean differences observed between males and females on 24h, daytime or night-time BPs. Among the Cameroonians, 31.7% (20 of 63) of the study population were 'non-dippers'. There we re no sex difference for dippers compared with non-dippers. Significan t nocturnal declines were noted for SBP, DBP, heart rate and mean arte rial pressure. The results of the present study reveal that in this se lect Cameroonian population, there exists a nocturnal decline in BP.