Prevalence of hypertension, its correlates and awareness among adult tribal population of Kerala state, India

BACKGROUND: Increasing prevalence of hypertension is a public health problem in India. AIMS: To study prevalence, correlates, and awareness of hypertension among tribal adult population in Kerala. SETTING AND DESIGN: A community-based, cross-sectional study was carried out in tribal areas of Kerala by adopting multistage random sampling procedure. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data was collected on socio-demographic and behavioral factors, and anthropometric measurements were carried out. Body mass index (BMI) was categorized using the classification recommended for Asians. Waist circumference ≥ 90 cm for men and ≥ 80 cm for women was used cut off for defining an abdominal obesity. Bivariate and multivariate analysis was carried out to study association of hypertension with socio-demographic variables, personal habits, and obesity. RESULTS: A total of 4,193 adults (men 1,891, women: 2,302) of ≥ 20 years of age were covered. The overall prevalence of hypertension was 40% (n=1671). The prevalence of hypertension increases with increase in age among both the genders. Regression analysis showed that the risk of hypertension was significantly (P<0.001) lower among educated and among higher socio-economic status group. Sedentary activity had 1.3 times (CI=1.09-1.60) and alcohol consumption had 1.4 (CI=1.17-1.73) times higher risk of hypertension. The risk of hypertension was 1.7 times higher among overweight/obese subjects. Overall, only 10% (n=164) of the adult population was aware of hypertension status, and about 8% (n=129) were on regular treatment. CONCLUSION: It was observed that the prevalence of hypertension was higher among tribal adult population of Kerala and was associated with age, gender, education, HHs wealth index, physical inactivity, alcohol consumption, and overweight/obesity.