Hypertension, diabetes mellitus and potassium status in a population sample of black Barbadians: a preliminary report - abstract

The aims of this study were to assess the previously reported hypokalaemia in black Barbadians and investigate relationships between hypertension (diastolic bloodpressue > 90mm Hg and/or systolic bloodpressure > 160mm Hg), diabetes mellitus (DM, fasting plasma glucose > 7.8 mmol/l), diet and potassium (K) status in Barbadians. A stratified random sample by sex and age (40-70 years) was obtained from enumeration registers of a geographically defined area. Of 955 persons invited, 464 (48.6 per cent) responded and they comprised 190 men and 274 women. A general and a food frequency questionnaire for 24-hr. diet recall were administered, and height, weight and bloodpressure (BP) were measured. Fasting plasma glucose, K and sodium levels were measured in blood, and urine volume, sodium and K were determined in a 24-hr. urine collection. The mean plasma of K was 3.8 mmol/l, S.D. 0.44, giving a range (mean ñ 2 S.D.) of 2.9 - 4.7 mmol/l which was almost identical to that previously reported. Both 24-hr. urinary K and sodium showed a weak negative correlation with systolic BP only. K deficiency was not clearly linked to hypertension and neither K deficiency nor current thiazide use was linked to DM. The prevalence of hypertension (25 per cent), DM (11 per cent), obesity, hypokalaemia and moderately low dietary K were high (AU)

Environmental factors affecting paracetamol metabolism in London factory and office workers

Paracetamol elimination was measured, using serial saliva samples, in 114 London factory and office workers, 76 whites and 38 Asian immigrants. Use of social drugs such as alcohol, tobacco and the oral contraceptive varied considerably within the sample, being appreciably greater in white subjects. Paracetamol clearance was 21 percent slower in Asians than in whites and half-life 18 percent longer. The total range of clearance was 1.86-6.78 ml/min/kg. Clearance was slower in women than in men, increased with increasing alcohol intake and cigarette consumption, and was more rapid in those women using the oral contraceptive. The effects of alcohol and the oral contraceptive were also found in white subjects alone. The variable found to correlate independently with paracetamol clearance accounted for only 27 percent of the total sample variance, however, and are unlikely to be the major determinants of paracetamol elimination in man (AU)