1 National Institute of Mental Health, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20852
It has recently been shown in Boston and in Montreal that there is a definite correlation between the blood pressure of parents and that of their natural children.1,2 In an effort to extend these findings to another population group, a study was undertaken on St. Paul Island, Alaska (population 450), an isolated island in the Bering Sea and the largest remaining Aleut village. Genetically it is thought that the Aleuts migrated from Asia with the Eskimos, but then split off and became a separate group. From 1747 to 1867 the Aleutian Chain was colonized by the Russians, and present-day Aleuts contain a liberal sprinkling of Russian genes.