Biocultural Correlates to the Blood Pressure of Samoan Migrants in Hawaii

The association between age, fat, place of residence, place of birth and casual blood pressure has been investigated in a cross sectional sample of 1011 Samoan adults and children resident on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Blood pressure is elevated, especially among young men in the third and fourth decades where over a third of the population is affected. While Samoan women resemble U.S. white women in blood pressure change with age, Samoan men do not show any major increase after age 25. This stability of blood pressure in men is not characteristic of modern populations and may be unique to Samoans. Analysis of morphological data on adults suggests that they are frequently obese, at some ages averaging above the 90th percentile for U.S. norms on skinfolds. A discriminant function analysis showed fatness and associated trunk dimensions to be major factors related to elevated blood pressure. The significant sociocultural factor related to blood pressure was place of residence. The Samoan adults and children living in urban areas have significantly lower blood pressures than those living in rural areas