Association of hypertension with generalized obesity in rural south-western Nigeria

Aim: There is a rising prevalence of hypertension worldwide with Africa reported to have the greatest disease burden. Obesity is the major risk factor for hypertension. This study aims to determine the prevalence of hypertension and its relationship with general obesity in rural south-western Nigeria. Methods: Cross-sectional descriptive survey was conducted in two rural communities in Remo North Local Government area of Ogun State, Nigeria. Four hundred and twelve (412) participants comprising 216 (50%) males, aged 20-70 years, were studied. Participants were screened for generalized obesity and hypertension according to standard protocols. Hypertension was defined according to the seventh report of Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of high blood pressure (JNC VII). Associations between obesity and hypertension were determined by analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson’s correlation and Chi-Square tests. Results: The mean of all the blood pressure indices (systolic, diastolic and mean arterial blood pressure) increased from first to fourth quartile of body mass index (BMI) (For trend, P<0.001). The prevalence of hypertension was 32.5% (28.6% in males and 36.4% in females). Compared to males, more females had systolic hypertension (45.1% vs 33.5%, P=0.02). The prevalence of hypertension increased with age (P<0.001 for systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP); P=0.019 for isolated systolic hypertension (ISH), and BMI (X2=8.508, P=0.019 [95% CI, 0.001-0.038]). BMI correlated with both systolic and diastolic blood pressures (P<0.001).Conclusions: The prevalence of hypertension is high and it is positively associated with obesity in the population. Aggressive lifestyle intervention to curb obesity is necessary to prevent hypertension and future cardiovascular disease.