The slavery hypertension hypothesis proposes that disproportionately high rates of

hypertension Hypertension (HTN or HT), also known as high blood pressure (HBP), is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms. Long-term high bl ...

among black people in the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...

are due to

selection bias Selection bias is the bias introduced by the selection of individuals, groups, or data for analysis in such a way that proper randomization is not achieved, thereby failing to ensure that the sample obtained is representative of the population int ...

preferring individuals who retain more sodium among black slaves during the

Middle Passage The Middle Passage was the stage of the Atlantic slave trade in which millions of enslaved Africans were transported to the Americas as part of the triangular slave trade. Ships departed Europe for African markets with manufactured goods (first ...

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History

It was originally proposed in 1983 by Clarence Grim and Thomas W. Wilson, who subsequently promoted it heavily during the remainder of the 1980s. It gained considerable media attention when Grim presented it at a conference in 1988. In 1990, the first medical textbook mentioning the hypothesis was published. The first peer-reviewed paper advancing the hypothesis was published by Wilson and Grim in 1991. This study also received considerable media attention. In December 2004, a paper titled ''CYP3A Variation and the Evolution of Salt-Sensitivity Variants'' was published which drew attention to the importance of the CPY3A5*1 and CPY3A5*3 alleles of

cytochrome P450 Cytochromes P450 (CYPs) are a Protein superfamily, superfamily of enzymes containing heme as a cofactor (biochemistry), cofactor that functions as monooxygenases. In mammals, these proteins oxidize steroids, fatty acids, and xenobiotics, and are ...

CYP3A5 Cytochrome P450 3A5 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''CYP3A5'' gene. Tissue distribution ''CYP3A5'' encodes a member of the cytochrome P450 superfamily of enzymes. Like most of the cytochrome P450, the CYP3A5 is expressed in the ...

in hypertensive disease. The paper showed a substantial correlation between geographical latitude and the CPY3A5 allele distribution, with African Americans descended from the slave trade having retained the equatorial haplotype. In 2005 the thesis that black Americans who trace their immigration to the slave era experience lower life expectancy due to hypertensive disease associated with the slave trade was revisited by the distinguished academic team of

David Cutler David Matthew Cutler (born June 22, 1965) is the Otto Eckstein Professor of Applied Economics at Harvard University. He was given a five-year term appointment of Harvard College Professor, which recognizes excellence in undergraduate teaching. He ...

(senior health care advisor to Barack Obama), Roland G. Fryer Jr. (economist and 2011 MacArthur Fellow) and

Nathan Glazer Nathan Glazer (February 25, 1923 – January 19, 2019) was an American sociologist who taught at the University of California, Berkeley, and for several decades at Harvard University. He was a co-editor of the now-defunct policy journal ''The Pu ...

. This paper was circulated in mimeo, was presented at a conference, and received 12 citations in the literature despite never being published in a formal journal. The paper shows that Black Americans having descended from the slave trade have largely retained the allele associated with equatorial populations, have higher sodium retention than other populations in America (including black people who later emigrated to America after the slave trade had ended), and have correspondingly higher hypertensive disease. The thesis gained renewed media attention when

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...

mentioned the hypothesis in an interview with Dr. Oz in 2007. Since it was originally proposed, the hypothesis has been challenged, and it has been described as a "myth". Detractors argue that the hypothesis is inconsistent with historical evidence regarding salt deficiency in Africa or the causes of death aboard slave ships. Grim and Robinson responded to Kaufman and Hall, maintaining the validity of the hypothesis and its consistency with historical descriptions of slavery.

References

Hypertension Hypotheses Slavery in the United States Race and health in the United States {{Cardiology-stub

History

See also

References