Prevalence of hypertension and associated cardiovascular risk factors in Central India

OBJECTIVES: To study the difference in the prevalence of hypertension and associated risk factors in urban and rural populations and the association of hypertension with various determinants. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in 48 villages and 15 urban wards of Jabalpur District of Central India. Nine hundred and thirty-nine individuals aged 20 years and above (624 from rural areas and 315 from urban areas) were included in the study. The prevalence of hypertension and associated cardiovascular risk factors was assessed in the urban and rural populations. A pretested questionnaire was used to collect data on socio-demographic, behavioral, and dietary factors. Anthropometric measurements of weight, height, waist and hip circumference, and blood pressure measurements were taken using the standard methodology. The glucose oxidase-peroxidase and cholesterol oxidase-cholesterol peroxidase methods were used to measure plasma glucose and serum cholesterol, respectively. Bivariate analysis was followed by multivariate analysis to detect the odds of getting hypertension with various risk factors for the urban and rural populations separately. Hypertension was defined as per Joint National Committee (JNC) - VII criteria. RESULTS: The response rate was 97%. Overall prevalence of hypertension was 17%, with 21.4% in the urban population and 14.8% in the rural population. Significantly higher mean values of weight, height, body mass index (BMI), hip circumference (HC), waist circumference (WC), waist hip ratio (WHR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), fasting blood sugar (FBS), and serum cholesterol levels were mapped in the urban population in comparison with the rural population. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified increasing age, parental history of hypertension, tobacco smoking, tobacco chewing, physical inactivity, high estimated per capita salt consumption, and BMI ≥27.5 kg/m(2) as independent predictors for hypertension in the urban population, while in the rural population, increasing age, physical inactivity, central obesity, tobacco chewing and tobacco smoking were independent predictors for hypertension. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of hypertension and other cardiovascular risk factors was high in both urban and rural communities. Therefore, there is a need for comprehensive health promotion programs to encourage lifestyle modification.