J Natl Med Assoc
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For 56 black American adolescents ranging in age from 13 to 19 years, 24-hour urinary sodium excretion was compared with blood pressure. The volunteers came from families of middle to low economic levels. Their body weight varied from 70 to 129 percent of ideal body weight. ⋯ Urinary sodium excretion values were taken as a reflection of dietary salt intake among these volunteers. The data suggest that the black adolescents studied do not consume excess sodium and contradict the belief that blacks eat excess sodium. Further, these baseline data must be considered among the factors responsible for the development of hypertension.
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High blood pressure affects various segments of the black population with variation in incidence, prevalence, and risk factors. Morbidity and mortality as a result of this disease also vary in different segments of the black population. Differences in geographical location, acculturation, and dietary habits have been studied and found related to the differences in disease (hypertension) patterns within the black population. These and several other intraracial factors remain to be studied effectively.