“…The current study also examined the unique and joint effect of ethnicity, gender, and age on b 2 -adrenergic receptors on peripheral blood mononuclear cells. It has been suggested that individual differences in the b-adrenergic receptor may account, in part, for the disparity in the prevalence of hypertension between Blacks and Whites (Bono et al, 1995;Brodde, Stuka, & Demuth, 1985;Brushi, Orlandini, & Pavarini, 1984;Calls et al, 2000;Feldman, Limbird, Nadeau, Roberston, & Wood, 1984). Although not entirely consistent, previous studies of healthy persons and those with diagnosed hypertension have reported independent effects of ethnicity, gender, and age with b 2adrenergic receptor number (B max ), dissociation constant (K d ), and cyclic adenosine monophosphate (AMP) production in response to agonist stimulation (Cases et al, 1991;Halper et al, 1984;Kafka et al, 1979;Mader & Davis, 1989;Michel, Brodde, & Insel, 1990;Mills, Dimsdale, Ziegler, & Nelesen, 1995;Muller, Weller, & Krone, 1994;Trimarco et al, 1983), as well as ethnic-(e.g., Stein, Lang, Singh, He, & Wood, 2000;Watkins, Dimsdale, & Ziegler, 1995) and agerelated (Bertel, Buhler, Kiowski, & Lutold, 1980) differences in beta-adrenergic responsiveness to agonist stimulation.…”