Black Men Most Likely Kidney Disease Patients To Have Uncontrolled High Blood Pressure

Black menwith kidney disease and high blood pressure are more likely than others to nothave their blood pressure under control, which could worsen their kidneydisease, according to a study in the current issue of the AmericanJournal of Kidney Diseases, HealthDayNews/U.S. News & World Report reports. In addition, both black men and womenin the later stages of kidney disease were less likely than white men and womento have controlled blood pressure. O. Kenrik Duru of the David Geffen School of Medicine at the Universityof California-Los Angeles and colleagues looked at morethan 10,000 people with kidney disease and hypertension for the study.

According to HealthDay/U.S. News & World Report, some expertsbelieve that controlling high blood pressure could slow the progression ofkidney disease. Previous research has shown that blacks with kidney diseaseprogress to kidney failure five times faster than whites.

In a statement, Duru said, "African-Americans with (kidney disease)progress more quickly to kidney failure, at which point they must receive akidney transplant or regular dialysis to survive," adding, "Thesefindings suggest that their higher risk of kidney failure may stem, at least inpart, from higher rates of uncontrolled high blood pressure."

Allan Collins, president of the National KidneyFoundation, said ina statement, "These findings propose new opportunities to eliminate healthdisparities in people most vulnerable to (kidney disease). Treating high bloodpressure aggressively in people with (kidney disease) could protect thousands-- if not millions -- of people from life-threatening complications of kidneyfailure" (HealthDay News/ U.S. News & World Report, 2/4).

Reprintedwith permission from kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Weekly Health Disparities Report, search the archives, and sign upfor email delivery at kaisernetwork.org/email . The Kaiser Weekly HealthDisparities Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of TheHenry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.