Comparison of anthropometric indices in predicting the risk of hypertension, Iran - 2014

Purpose: The best anthropometric index has not been established to investigate the relationship between hypertension and obesity. Since a similar study was not conducted in Bojnurd, we began to investigate the comparison of anthropometric indices (body mass index, waist circumference, and waist-to-hip and waist-to-height ratios) in predicting the risk of hypertension. Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted on women referring to Bojnurd health centers. For analyzing the data, we used t-test, Chi-square, logistic regression, and the receiver operating characteristic curve in SPSS 19 software. Results: The prevalence of blood pressure was 53.4% (confidence interval = 46.8–60). All four anthropometric indicators were used as a screening tool for hypertension diagnosis; however, body mass index (BMI) had a higher sub-curved surface than other anthropometric indices (area under curve = 0.717). The cutoff point of BMI for predicting the risk of hypertension was 25.6. Conclusions: This study suggested that BMI as an anthropometric indicator to evaluate the risk of hypertension. Since a significant percentage of people are unaware of the existence of hypertension, continuing education is needed to encourage people to pay more attention to this problem.