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Cited by 136Blood Pressure and Hypertension StudiesDiabetes, Cardiovascular Risks, and LipoproteinsHeart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control

Ethnic Differences in Insulinemia and Sympathetic Tone as Links Between Obesity and Blood Pressure

Weyer, Christian, Pratley, Richard E., Snitker, Soren, Spraul, Maximilian, Ravussin, Eric, Tataranni, P. Antonio·2000·Hypertension
DOI 10.1161/01.hyp.36.4.531
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Abstract

Abstract—Hyperinsulinemia and increased sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity are thought to be pathophysiological links between obesity and hypertension. In the present study, we examined the relation among heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), and percent body fat (hydrodensitometry or DEXA), fasting plasma insulin concentration, and muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA, microneurography) in male, normotensive whites (n=42) and Pima Indians (n=77). Pima Indians have a high prevalence of obesity and hyperinsulinemia but a relatively low prevalence of hypertension. Compared with whites, Pima Indian men had a higher percent body fat (28% versus 21%) and higher fasting insulin concentrations (210 versus 132 pmol/L) but lower MSNA (27 versus 33 bursts/min) (all P<0.001). In both ethnic groups, HR and BP were positively related to percent body fat and MSNA, and both were significant independent determinants of HR and BP in multiple regression analyses. However, MSNA was positively related to percent body fat and the fasting insulin concentration in whites (r=0.60 and r=0.47, both P<0.01) but not in Pima Indians (r=0.15 and r=0.03, NS) (P<0.01 for ethnic differences in the slope of the regression lines). These results confirm the physiological importance of the SNS in normal BP regulation but indicate that the roles of hyperinsulinemia and increased SNS activity as mediators for the relation between obesity and hypertension can differ between different ethnic groups. The lack of an increase in SNS activity with increasing adiposity and insulinemia in Pima Indians may contribute to the low prevalence of hypertension in this population.

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  • Muscle sympathetic nervous system activity was lower in Pima Indians than in white individuals and did not track well with adiposity.

    “Muscle sympathetic nervous system activity (MSNA) was also lower in Pima Indians than in white individuals and did not track well with adiposity33.”

    From Obesity, kidney dysfunction and hypertension: mechanistic links (2019) · cites this paper as [33]

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Authors
Weyer, C., Pratley, R. E., Snitker, S., Spraul, M., Ravussin, E., & Tataranni, P. A.
Affiliations
  • University of Maryland, Baltimore (US)
  • From the Clinical Diabetes and Nutrition Section, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Phoenix, Ariz (C.W., R.E.P., E.R., P.A.T.); the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Nutrition, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md (S.S.); and the Department of Metabolic Diseases and Nutrition, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany (M.S.).
ORCID
Venue
Hypertension
Publisher
Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Published
2000-10
Volume
36
Issue
4
Pages
531-537
ISSN
  • 0194-911X (ISSN-L)
  • 1524-4563
DOI
10.1161/01.hyp.36.4.531
OpenAlex
W2152498096
Cited by
136
References
36
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 8
FWCI
3.50
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Hypertension (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Blood Pressure and Hypertension Studies
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Diabetes, Cardiovascular Risks, and Lipoproteins
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Heart Rate Variability and Autonomic Control
Keywords
hyperinsulinemia, sympathetic activity, muscle sympathetic nerve activity, obesity, Pima Indians, heart rate, blood pressure regulation, body fat percentage, ethnic differences, insulin resistance
MeSH terms
Adipose Tissue, Adolescent, Adult, Anthropometry, Blood Pressure, Body Composition, Electrophysiology, Glucose Tolerance Test, Heart Rate, Humans, Indians, North American, Insulin, Male, Middle Aged, Obesity, Absorptiometry, Photon, Sympathetic Fibers, Postganglionic, Muscle, Skeletal, White People, Asian People

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