International Journal of Clinical Cardiology Research Article: Open Access ClinMed International Library Citation: Arlappa N, Laxmmaiah A, Balakrishna N, Harikumar R, Mallikharjuna Rao K, Brahmam GNV (2014) Prevalence of Hypertension and its Relationship with Adiposity among Rural Elderly Population in India.Int J Clin Cardiol 1:003 Received: September 18, 2014: Accepted: September 30, 2014: Published: October 02, 2014 Copyright: © 2014 Arlappa N. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Prevalence of Hypertension and its Relationship with Adiposity among Rural Elderly Population in India Nimmathota Arlappa*, Avula Laxmmaiah, Nagalla Balakrishna, Rachakula Harikumar, Ko- davanti Mallikharjuna Rao and GNV Brahmam National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR), Hyderabad, India *Corresponding author: Arlappa N, Scientist ‘D’, Division of Community Studies, National Institute of Nutrition, (Indian Council of Medical Research), Jamai-Osmania, P O, Hyderabad – 500 007, Telangana, India; Tel: 91-040- 27197255; E-mail: arlappan@yahoo.com Introduction he size of the elderly segment of the population is increasing in developing countries, with a concomitant increase in life expectancy [1]. his development in demographic transition is associated with an epidemiological shit from communicable to non-communicable disease [2] leading to an enormous economical burden on households as well as on nations. Of these, hypertension is one of the most important causes of mortality and morbidity in the elderly [3], and accounts for a large proportion of cardiovascular diseases in the elderly [4]. As per the World Health Organization reports, the prevalence of hypertension among elderly was 69% and 55% respectively, in urban and rural areas of India [1]. Anthropometric evaluation is an essential feature of geriatric nutritional evaluation for determining malnutrition, being overweight, obesity, muscular mass loss, fat mass gain and adipose tissue redistribution [5]. he study of nutritional status of elderly is of particular importance, as they are at greater risk of malnutrition [6], and at the same time have an increased prevalence of many chronic diseases, which may be associated with nutritional status [7,8]. he prevalence of obesity is increasing drastically in many countries in the recent decade, [9] and it has become particularly high in the elderly population [10-12], and in India about 54% (Body mass index >22.25) of elderly had overweight/obesity [1]. In the elderly, obesity has been associated not only with increased mortality [13,14], but also with elevated risks of type 2 diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance [15], hypertension [16], lipid abnormalities [17], stroke [18], and coronary heart disease [19]. Obesity also contributes to functional decline and disability in elderly people [20]. Anthropometric indicators are used to evaluate the prognosis of chronic and acute diseases, and to guide medical intervention in the elderly [21]. he use of simple anthropometric measures as health outcome indicators, suitable for population screening, has aroused much interest [22]. Body Mass Index (BMI), waist Circumference (WC), and Waist-to-Hip Ratio (WHR) have been used as simple Anthropometric Indices (AI) for assessing the amount and distribution of body fat [23,24] and are useful indices in predicting the risks of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and Cardio Vascular Diseases Abstract Background: The world has witnessed the demographic transition in which there is increased proportion of elderly (≥ 60 years) population. This increased longevity is associated with the burden of chronic non- communicable diseases. Objective: To assess the prevalence of hypertension and its relationship with adiposity among the elderly in rural India. Subjects and methods: A community based cross-sectional study was carried out among 3133 elderly (Men: 1677; Women: 1456). Height, weight, waist circumference (WC), and blood pressure were recorded on selected subjects. Results: The overall prevalence of hypertension was 50% among rural elderly and signiicantly (p<0.001) a higher proportion of women (53.3%) had hypertension compared to men (47.3%). Prevalence of hypertension was signiicantly (p<0.001) higher among overweight / obese elderly and it increased signiicantly (p<0.001) with increasing body mass index (BMI), waist circumference and age. According to un-adjusted odds ratio (OR), higher BMI had twice the risk of having hypertension among both elderly men (OR=1.9; CI: 1.4-2.5) and women (OR=2.2; CI: 1.7-2.8). However, abdominal obesity, in terms of WC had higher risk (OR=2.6; CI: 2.0-3.3) of having hypertension compared to high BMI among elderly women. Similarly, other covariates such as older age, sedentary physical activity, wealth index in both genders and high consumption of sugar and salt in case of elderly women were signiicantly (p<0.05 to 0.01) associated with hypertension. Conclusions: Prevalence of hypertension is a serious public health problem among elderly in India. Overweight/obesity is signiicantly associated with the high prevalence of hypertension in elderly. Therefore, effective preventive interventions, such as healthy lifestyles, regular physical activity and prudent dietary practices have to be adopted during middle age for the health promotion during old age. Keywords Hypertension, Elderly, BMI, WC, Overweight, Obesity Abbreviations BMI: Body Mass Index; WC: Waist Circumference; NNMB: National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau Arlappa, Int J Clin Cardiol 2014, 1:1