Black males who lived with both parents at some point as children -- versus those who didn't -- had lower average blood pressure levels in adulthood, a cross-sectional study showed.
Growing up in a two-parent household was associated with significantly lower systolic blood pressure (by 4.4 mm Hg, 95% CI 0.96-7.84) and pulse pressure (by 3.9 mm Hg, 95% CI 1.51-6.28) at an average age of 48, according to Debbie Barrington, PhD, MPH, of the NIH's National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities in Bethesda, Md., and colleagues.
"These results provide preliminary evidence that childhood family structure exerts a long-term influence on blood pressure among black men," they wrote. "Living with both parents in early life may identify a critical period in human development where a nurturing socio-familial environment can have profound, long-lasting influences on blood pressure through epigenetic processes or initiating cumulative sociocultural advantages across the life course."
www.medpagetoday.com/Cardiology/Hypertension/43212
The study can be found in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.
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