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Predicting high blood pressure among adults in Southeastern Nigeria using anthropometric variables

Background: Epidemiological studies on high blood pressure revealed that it has become a global public health concern. Efforts are being made to uncover other indicators of hypertension than the traditional and crude one popularly used, i.e. BMI. Obesity and overweight are common causes of most cardiovascular diseases. Aim: The study examined which anthropometric variable better predicts hypertension among adults in Enugu State of Nigeria. Materials and Methods: Sample of the present cross-sectional study included 540 (288 females and 258 males) adults aged 28-74 years old. Five anthropometric variables (weight, height, chest, waist, and hip circumferences) and blood pressure were measured. Data were collected by means of questionnaires from patients attending Korean Enugu State University Teaching Hospital. Subject is classified as being hypertensive if systolic blood pressure (SBP) >140 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) >90 mmHg. Results: The overall prevalence rate of hypertension was found to be 26.30% while 24.4% and 28% were recorded for males and females respectively. The prevalence was not significantly associated with gender (χ2 = 0.899, P = 0.343). Hypertension was found to be related to age, weight, chest, waist, and hip circumferences, and waist-hip ratio (P < 0.05) but not height (P > 0.05). Waist circumference with the largest area under the ROC curve was the best predictor of hypertension for all sample population, males and females respectively 0.67, 0.68 and 0.66. Logistic regression model revealed that CC, WC, HC and WHR are predictors of hypertension. Conclusion: Waist circumference appears to be a better predictor of hypertension than other anthropometrics in this sample population.