Prehypertension and its correlation with cardiovascular risk factors – A study among health sciences students in Malaysia

Introduction: The levels of blood pressure (BP) are important as it is a potential risk factor that predisposes towards cardiovascular disease (CVD) when the levels are high. After the introduction of the term prehypertension by Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC7) (2004), there are heightened interests on the correlation between high-normal levels of BP with CVD risk factors.Methodology: A questionnaire containing information about eating habits, family history and social habits was given out. Other than that, anthropometric measurements were taken according to the protocol provided by the United States Institutes of Health.Results: There were a total of 87 respondents that participated in the study. The overall prevalence of prehypertension and hypertension was 40.2% (46.9% - males; 32.7% - females) and 2.3% (male) respectively. Also, it was found that 57.1% of male and 40% of female with increased WC and 75% of male and 33.3% of female with increased WHR have prehypertension. It was also found that subjects with a positive family history of hypertension, diabetes and stroke have a higher tendency towards prehypertension.Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of prehypertension among males compared to female and that there are positive correlations between the CVD risk factors with prehypertension.