Blood pressure in 15- to 16-year-old adolescents of different ethnic groups in two London schools

A blood pressure screening survey was conducted in 357 students, aged 15-16 years, in 2 London schools. Males had higher systolic blood pressures than females, and white males had significantly higher mean systolic pressures than black males, but diastolic pressures were similar. There is no evidence in this survey that blacks have higher mean blood pressures than whites--rather the reverse. This and the difference in blood pressure between schools suggest environmental factors may be important determinants of blood pressure.