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A16650 Hypertension and mental health status among residents of urban Puducherry

Objectives: To assess the the association of behavioural risk factors including hypertension and mental health status among adult population of Puducherry. Methods: a community based cross sectional study among 569 adults with age 18 years and above residing in urban area of Puducherry. Structured questionnaire including socio- demographic, lifestyle (smoking, alcohol drinking, diet and exercise) was used. Assessment of mental health status of individuals was done through General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Participants with total GHQ scores of 4 or more were defined as having poor mental health. This study was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee of Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences. Results: Among 569 study subjects interviewed, almost half (48%) were aged less than 40 years and 52% (n = 295) were men. The prevalence of various risk factors was; tobacco use (13.4%), alcohol consumption (14.2%), physical inactivity (51.5%), unhealthy diet (86.5%), overweight (36.0%), obesity (21.3%), abdominal obesity (63.3), hypertension (25.3%) and pre-hypertension (47.8%). More than two-third (69.2%) of participants had good mental health. Fifty four (9.5%) of participants had psychological distress. Hypertension, Prehypertension, Smoking and alcohol consumption were associated with poor mental health whereas there was no significant association of physical inactivity with mental distress. Conclusion: The finding indicates that behavioural risk factors were more prevalent among the male population and lifestyle factors were associated with mental health.