Julian Keil, Dr.PH

Born:

Dr. Keil, a native of South Carolina and long an epidemiologist at the Medical University of South Carolina, was a pioneer in studies of Black/White differences in hypertension and CVD, in collaboration with Ed Boyle, the P-I of the Charleston Heart Study (CHS) in the 1960s, and with Peter Gazes in the “revitalization” and follow-up of that study in the 1980s. The CHS and references to Keil’s work are described here.

They established the greater prevalence and incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD) and hypertension in Blacks. Significantly, however, these workers found that the incidence of hypertension was similar in racial
groups at the same social class; they correlated better with socioeconomic status (SES) than with skin color. Weight was also more related to social class than color and they hypothesized that aging- and weight-related correlates of hypertension were based on life experience in poverty.

Keil extended the study findings to 40 years of follow-up and to other outcomes: for cancer and for sexual function with age. (HB)