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Cited by 91Race, Genetics, and SocietyGenetic Associations and EpidemiologyRacial and Ethnic Identity Research

Genetic ancestry, social classification, and racial inequalities in blood pressure in southeastern Puerto Rico

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Gravlee, Clarence C., Non, Amy L., Mulligan, Connie J.·2009·PLoS ONE
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0006821PMC PMC2731885
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: The role of race in human genetics and biomedical research is among the most contested issues in science. Much debate centers on the relative importance of genetic versus sociocultural factors in explaining racial inequalities in health. However, few studies integrate genetic and sociocultural data to test competing explanations directly. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We draw on ethnographic, epidemiologic, and genetic data collected in Southeastern Puerto Rico to isolate two distinct variables for which race is often used as a proxy: genetic ancestry versus social classification. We show that color, an aspect of social classification based on the culturally defined meaning of race in Puerto Rico, better predicts blood pressure than does a genetic-based estimate of continental ancestry. We also find that incorporating sociocultural variables reveals a new and significant association between a candidate gene polymorphism for hypertension (alpha(2C) adrenergic receptor deletion) and blood pressure. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This study addresses the recognized need to measure both genetic and sociocultural factors in research on racial inequalities in health. Our preliminary results provide the most direct evidence to date that previously reported associations between genetic ancestry and health may be attributable to sociocultural factors related to race and racism, rather than to functional genetic differences between racially defined groups. Our results also imply that including sociocultural variables in future research may improve our ability to detect significant allele-phenotype associations. Thus, measuring sociocultural factors related to race may both empower future genetic association studies and help to clarify the biological consequences of social inequalities.

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  • Systematic environmental effects that contribute to an increase in non-genetic risk factors in African Americans-current and historical racism, for instance-could explain the marked health differences between African Americans and European Americans.

    “Whereas natural selection cannot easily explain the observed population difference, systematic environmental effects that contribute to an increase in non-genetic risk factors in African Americans—current and historical racism, for instance [53–55]—could, on the other hand, explain such marked differences.”

    From Interpreting polygenic scores, polygenic adaptation, and human phenotypic differences (2019) · cites this paper as [54]

    The Introduction reports higher hypertension prevalence among Black Americans than Whites and identifies racism and other social stressors as possible contributors. The Discussion (Hypertension in the African Diaspora) likewise says unequal exposure to adverse environmental conditions could explain blood-pressure differences without invoking genetic differences. The paper does not specifically address historical racism or establish this explanation for health differences generally; its analysis concerns blood pressure in southeastern Puerto Rico. (LLM, conf=0.83)

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Authors
Gravlee, C. C., Non, A. L., & Mulligan, C. J.
Affiliations
University of Florida (US)
Corresponding author
Gravlee, Clarence C.
ORCID
Venue
PLoS ONE
Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Published
2009-09-09
Volume
4
Issue
9
Pages
e6821
ISSN
1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0006821
PMC
PMC2731885
OpenAlex
W2148085682
Cited by
91
References
2
Citations by year
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FWCI
6.24
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation (0820687, 0078793, 0724032)
  • American Heart Association
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Race, Genetics, and Society
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic Associations and Epidemiology
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Racial and Ethnic Identity Research
Keywords
genetic ancestry, social categorization, racial disparities in health, blood pressure, skin color, continental ancestry, sociocultural factors, racism, Puerto Rico, genetic association studies
MeSH terms
Adult, Blood Pressure, Ethnicity, Female, Humans, Hypertension, Male, Middle Aged, Phenotype, Polymorphism, Genetic, Puerto Rico, Social Class, Gene Deletion, Receptors, Adrenergic, alpha-2, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Health Status Disparities

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