Relation between vegetarian/nonvegetarian diets and blood pressure in black and white adults.

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Abstract
We examined the possible interaction of race and diet on blood pressure (BP) in volunteer Black Seventh Day Adventists compared with volunteer White church members. Height, weight, waist and hip curcumference, and resting seated BP were recorded in Black vegetarians (n = 55; age: 54.7 .+-. 16.9 yrs), Black Nonvegetarians (n = 59; 56.1 .+-. 14.1 yrs), White vegetarians (n = 164; 52.2 .+-. 16.7 yrs), and White nonvegetarians (n = 100; 52.6 .+-. 15.6 yrs) attending a regional conference. Forty-four percent of the Black nonvegetarians were medicated hypertensives, compared to only 18 percent of the Black vegetarians, 7 percent of the White vegetarians, and 22 percent of the White nonvegetarians. Black vegetarians exhibited lower lag and sex-adjusted systolic BP (.hivin.x = 122.9/74/.4 mm Hg) than black nonvegetarians (.hivin.x = 132.2/75.9 mm Hg). After further adjusting BP for body mass index ans waist/hip ratio, the systolic BP among Black vegetarians remained lower (122.8) than Black nonvegetarians (129.7) but higher than that of the Whites who showed no diet-related BP differences.