Hypertension in the native rural population of Assam.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have reported an increasing prevalence of hypertension in India. However, there are few epidemiological data with regard to the occurrence of hypertension in the native population of Assam. METHODS: Three thousand one hundred and eighty individuals (1441 men and 1739 women), > or =30 years of age and from 25 villages of 5 districts in Assam were selected by the stratified random sampling method. They were interviewed and their blood pressure measured along with other anthropometric variables. Hypertension was defined according to the Sixth Report of the Joint National Committee on prevention, detection, evaluation and treatment of high blood pressure (JNC-VI). RESULTS: The overall prevalence of hypertension was 33.3%. Among the patients with hypertension, 21.6% were aware of their illness. The determinants of hypertension were age, intake of extra salt in the diet, body mass index and waist-hip ratio (derived by multiple logistic regression analysis with backward elimination of non-significant factors). Multivariate analysis showed that females had a higher risk of hypertension than males. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of hypertension in the native population of Assam is high. Implementation of an effective awareness programme with lifestyle modifications is necessary to control the cardiovascular disease burden in this population.