ABSTRACT
Background. Several studies have addressed arterial hypertension prevalence in Mexico. However, few include an anlysis of other types of hypertension and their associated risk factors. The present work describes the prevalence of high blood pressure (HBP), isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) and diastolic hypertension (DH) and their association to certain risk factors of cardiovascular disease in an adult population of Mexico City. Methods. A cross-sectional study was performed on 825 subjects age between 20 and 90 years, selected by multistage cluster sampling. HBP was diagnosed by previous history if systolic blood pressure was =140 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure =90 mmHg. The measurements taken included body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, levels of insulin, glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol, high and low density hipoprotein cholesterol, and lipoprotein(a). Results. Prevalence adjusted by age for HBP was 19.4 percent, for ISH, 4.7 percent, and for DH, 4.1 percent. Age had an important influence on HBP and ISH with highly significant X²t. The profile of metabolic variables was modified according to sex and type of hypertension. Thus, in DH, metabolic variables were more affected than in other types of hypertension. Conclusions. Results in HBP prevalence in the present study were lower than in other surveys performed in Mexico. It must be noted, however, that much care should be taken to choose the strategy of subject selection, since results of the prevalence of a disease depend on it to a great extent. The ISH and DH and their association to risk factor must be studied thoroughly because they constitute different clinical entities