Comparison of QRS duration in African blacks and European Caucasians

This study aimed to compare the QRS duration in a large population of healthy individuals living in Nigeria with a Caucasian population living in Scotland. The Nigerian population consisted of 782 males and 479 females with an age range of 20-87 years. The Caucasian population consisted of 859 males and 637 females with an age range from 18-82 years. For the Nigerian population, the overall QRS duration for males was 87.9 ± 9.4ms and for females, it was 83.4 ± 7.6ms. For the Caucasian population, the overall QRS duration in males was 93.7 ± 9.8ms and in females was 86.1 ± 7.7ms. In both populations, the mean QRS duration was higher in males than in females. There was a significantly longer QRS duration in Caucasian males and females compared to their Nigerian counterparts. However, the upper limits of normal QRS duration differed little between the two races.