A demographic approach to assess elevated blood pressure and obesity in prepubescent children: the ExAMIN Youth South Africa study.

Background: Obesity and hypertension prevalence among children are a concern, with limited evidence available on sex and ethnic differences in childhood blood pressure. We aimed to determine the number of children with hypertension and obesity to identify unique adiposity and blood pressure characteristics by sex and ethnicity, and to estimate the odds of having elevated blood pressure with increasing adiposity.

Methods: We included 1062 healthy children (5-9 years of age) in an observational school-based study in South Africa.

Homoarginine and blood pressure: a 10-year prospective relationship in normotensives.

Nitric oxide plays a major role in the regulation of blood pressure, and impaired nitric oxide bioavailability contributes to the development of hypertension (HT). Various factors may contribute to nitric oxide bioavailability-including availability of the substrate for nitric oxide synthesis, L-arginine and its homolog L-homoarginine. We investigated whether blood pressure after 10 years associates with baseline L-homoarginine in participants who remained normotensive (NT) or developed HT, respectively.

L-homoarginine is associated with decreased cardiovascular- and all-cause mortality.

Background: Increasing evidence suggests that L-homoarginine, an endogenous analogue of the amino acid L-arginine, may have beneficial effects on vascular homeostasis. We examined whether L-homoarginine is associated with 10-year risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in a black South African population.

Methods: We included 669 black South African participants (mean age 59.

The Exercise, Arterial Modulation and Nutrition in Youth South Africa Study (ExAMIN Youth SA).

The impact of a sedentary and unhealthy lifestyle on cardiovascular health is well-documented, however the current obesity and hypertension trends among children is concerning. The ExAMIN Youth SA study aims to investigate the impact of lifestyle behaviors (physical fitness/activity, dietary intake and psychosocial factors) involved in early vascular aging among South African children. This study is an analytical, multidisciplinary, observational cohort study in a school-based setting.

Correction: Morning blood pressure surge in young black and white adults: The African-PREDICT Study.

In the article "Morning blood pressure surge in young black and white adults: The African-PREDICT Study" by Gontse Gratitude Mokwatsi, Aletta Elisabeth Schutte, Catharina Martha Cornelia Mels and Ruan Kruger which appeared in 'Journal of Human Hypertension' (2018) volume 32, DOI 10.1038/s41371-018-0089-3, the authors regret that they mentioned erroneously that none of their study participants had an exaggerated morning blood pressure surge. They would like to point out that 40 participants in their study population had an exaggerated sleep-trough surge whereas 128 had an exaggerated dynamic surge.

Morning blood pressure surge in young black and white adults: The African-PREDICT Study.

An exaggerated morning blood pressure surge (MBPS) has independent predictive value for cardiovascular mortality and is suggested to be prevalent in elderly hypertensive patients: men and white populations. To better understand the MBPS profile in a young and normotensive population, we evaluated the MBPS in young adults and explored associations with demographic, cardiovascular and health behaviour measurements. We included 845 black (n = 439) and white (n = 406) men and women aged between 20 and 30 years.

The association of endothelin-1 with markers of oxidative stress in a biethnic South African cohort: the SABPA study.

Both endothelin-1 and oxidative stress have important roles in the development of cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension and atherosclerosis. Limited information is available on the interaction between oxidative stress, the glutathione system and endothelin-1 in humans. We aimed to investigate the association of endothelin-1 with markers of oxidative stress and the antioxidant capacity in a biethnic South African cohort.

The Association of Endothelin-1 with Markers of Arterial Stiffness in Black South African Women: The SABPA Study.

Background. Limited data exist regarding endothelin-1 (ET-1), a vasoactive contributor in vascular tone, in a population subjected to early vascular deterioration. We compared ET-1 levels and explored its association with markers of arterial stiffness in black and white South Africans.