Blood Pressure and Arterial Stiffness in Kenyan Adolescents With α+Thalassemia

Background: recent studies have discovered that α-globin is expressed in blood vessel walls where it plays a role in regulating vascular tone. we tested the hypothesis that blood pressure (bp) might differ between normal individuals and those with α+thalassemia,in whom the production of α-globin is reduced.methods and results: the study was conducted in nairobi,kenya,among 938 adolescents aged 11 to 17 years. twenty-four-hour ambulatory bp monitoring and arterial stiffness measurements were performed using an arteriograph device. we genotyped for α+thalassemia by polymerase chain reaction. complete data for analysis were available for 623 subjects; 223 (36%) were heterozygous (-α/αα) and 47 (8%) were homozygous (-α/-α) for α+thalassemia whereas the remaining 353 (55%) were normal (αα/αα). mean 24-hour systolic bp ±sd was 118±12 mm hg in αα/αα,117±11 mm hg in -α/αα,and 118±11 mm hg in -α/-α subjects,respectively. mean 24-hour diastolic bp ±sd in these groups was 64±8,63±7,and 65±8 mm hg,respectively. mean pulse wave velocity (pwv)±sd was 7±0.8,7±0.8,and 7±0.7 ms-1,respectively. no differences were observed in pwv and any of the 24-hour ambulatory bp monitoring-derived measures between those with and without α+thalassemia.conclusions: these data suggest that the presence of α+thalassemia does not affect bp and/or arterial stiffness in kenyan adolescents. © 2017 the authors. published on behalf of the american heart association,inc.,by wiley.