Prevalence of prehypertension among medical students and its correlation with anthropometric indices
Journal Title: International Journal of Medical Science and Public Health - Year 2018, Vol 7, Issue 12
Abstract
Background: Hypertension is one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide. Prehypertension acts as a warning sign, in younger age group which indicates the risk of developing hypertension in later life. Obesity is another important public health problem that has assumed epidemic proportions in developing countries and acts as a major independent risk factor for the development of hypertension. Objectives: The objective of the study was to identify the prevalence of prehypertension and its relation with body mass index (BMI) and neck circumference (NC) among young medical students. Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional was conducted among 192 medical students. The participants were examined for various anthropometric parameters such as height, weight, and NC. BMI was calculated. Blood pressure (BP) was recorded using a standard mercury sphygmomanometer. The correlation between BMI, NC, and BP was assessed by calculating the Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r) and P > 0.05 was taken as statistically significant. Results: The overall prevalence of prehypertension among the participants was 21.35%. The prevalence was higher among the overweight medical students (45.48%). Mean BMI and mean NC were higher among prehypertensives compared to normotensives. A positive significant relation was found between BPs and both BMI and NC. Conclusion: Our study revealed a high prevalence of prehypertension among medical students which was significantly associated with BMI and NC.
Authors and Affiliations
Farhana Ahad, Nida Nowreen
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP489700
- DOI 10.5455/ijmsph.2018.0925920092018
- Views 98
- Downloads 0
Seroprevalence of hepatitis C in renal failure patients on maintenance hemodialysis – Study in a tertiary care hospital – Western India
Background: Hepatitis C is endemic in most parts of the world. It is a blood borne infection, which has a significant impact in treatment and outcome of renal failure patients undergoing dialysis. Objective: To d...
Psychological stress and musculoskeletal problems among unorganized building construction workers in Chiplun, Ratnagiri district, India
Background: At present, yearly progress of construction industry is 10% and it is included in the fastest growing industrial area of India. Workers suffering from psychological strain were unhealthy, less motivated, less...
OCT determined macular thickness in diabetic retinopathy and relation to colour vision deficiency patterns
Background: Diabetic retinopathy is the most common cause of blindness in industrialised nations and the incidence of diabetes is expected to rise over the next 10 years. Early treatment of proliferative diabetic...
Pyogenic liver abscesses and symptomatic hypercalcemia: The report of an unusual association
Hypercalcemia is usually caused by primary hyperparathyroidism or malignancy, a number of other conditions can be important to consider. Of the infectious causes of hypercalcemia described in the literature Staphylococcu...
Primary hydatid cyst of parotid gland—an aspirate with a clue to diagnosis
Primary hydatid cyst of salivary glands are uncommon. Although very few cases have been reviewed in parotid and submandibular salivary glands, the characteristic cytological features were rarely reported. Here we repor...