Biochemical profile of hypertensive individuals in an urban community.

Of the 1,432 participants, 767 were males and 665 were females. The prevalence of hypertension was 13.90%. The sex-wise prevalence was 9.52% and 18.95% in males and females respectively. The age distribution of hypertension was multi-modal. More than one-third of the hypertensive patients were also diabetics. The difference in the distribution of blood levels of sugar, electrolytes and cholesterol in the hypertensives and normotensives were not statistically significant. These findings question the rationale of ordering these blood tests as part of routine investigations for all hypertensives.