The relationship between cortisol, C-reactive protein and hypertension in African and Causcasian women: the POWIRS study

Research on the roles that C-reactive protein (CRP) and other risk factors such as cortisol and obesity play in the diagnosis of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in African and Caucasian women has become increasingly imperative when one considers the prevalence of hypertension in these groups. CRP and cortisol have been associated with an increased prevalence of hypertension and obesity. Cortisol has also been linked with both hypertension and the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) response. African women have previously presented with an increased vascular reactivity. Conversely, Caucasian women have displayed an increased central cardiac reactivity. We included African (n = 102) and Caucasian (n = 115) women in the study, matched for age and body mass index. Elevated CRP levels were observed in African women compared to Caucasian women. A trend of hypocortisolism was exhibited in both hypertensive ethnic groups. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and a vascular marker, arterial compliance (Cw), predicted hypertension in African women. Conversely, in Caucasian women, only SBP predicted hypertension. These results suggest the apparently diverse roles that dysregulation by the HPA axis, in conjunction with the respective cardiac and vascular responses in both Caucasian and African women, can play in future cardiovascular risk for these groups.