Circulatory responses to lower body negative pressure in young Afghans and Danes: implications for understanding ethnic effects on blood pressure regulation.
We have previously shown that Afghans residing in Denmark for at least 12 years exhibit a lower 24-h ambulatory blood pressure compared to Danes. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that the lower blood pressure reflects attenuated compensatory baroreflex responses in the Afghans.
On a controlled diet (2,822 cal/day, 55-75 mmol + 2 mmol Na+/kg/day), 12 young males of Afghan (Afghans) and 12 young males of Danish (Danes) origin were exposed to a two-step lower body negative pressure (LBNP) protocol of -20 and -50 mmHg, respectively, each of 10-min duration.
Afghans had lower 24-h systolic blood pressure compared to Danes (115 ± 2 vs. 123 ± 1 mmHg, p
