Prevalence of and risk factors for hypertension in urban and rural India: the ICMR–INDIAB study

• Published in: Journal of human hypertension Vol. 29; no. 3; pp. 204 - 209
• Main Authors: Bhansali, A, Dhandania, V K, Deepa, M, Anjana, R M, Joshi, S R, Joshi, P P, Madhu, S V, Rao, P V, Subashini, R, Sudha, V, Unnikrishnan, R, Das, A K, Shukla, D K, Kaur, T, Mohan, V, Pradeepa, R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.03.2015; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 14/1; 14/56; 692/308; Adult; Age; Aged; Antihypertensives; Blood pressure; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus; Distribution; Epidemiology; Female; Health Administration; Health risk assessment; Humans; Hypertension; Hypertension - epidemiology; India - epidemiology; Male; Medical research; Medical statistics; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Medicine, Experimental; Middle Aged; original-article; Prevalence; Public Health; Public health administration; Risk Factors; Rural Population - statistics & numerical data; Rural populations; Territory; Urban Population - statistics & numerical data; India
• ISSN: 0950-9240; 1476-5527; 1476-5527
• DOI: 10.1038/jhh.2014.57

The aim of the study is to determine the prevalence of hypertension (HTN) and its risk factors in urban and rural India. In Phase I of the Indian Council of Medical Research–India Diabetes (ICMR–INDIAB) study, individuals aged ⩾20 years were surveyed using a stratified multistage sampling design, in three states (Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Jharkhand) and one union territory (Chandigarh) of India. Blood pressure was measured in all study subjects ( n =14 059). HTN was defined as systolic blood pressure ⩾140 mm Hg, and/or DBP ⩾90 mm Hg and/or use of antihypertensive drugs. Overall age-standardized prevalence of HTN was 26.3% (self-reported: 5.5%; newly detected: 20.8%). Urban residents of Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Chandigarh and Maharashtra (31.5, 28.9, 30.7 and 28.1%) had significantly higher prevalence of HTN compared with rural residents (26.2, 21.7, 19.8 and 24.0%, respectively). Multivariate regression analysis showed that age, male gender, urban residence, generalized obesity, diabetes, physical inactivity and alcohol consumption were significantly associated with HTN. Salt intake ⩾6.5 g per day, showed significantly higher risk for HTN (odds ratio: 1.4, 95% confidence interval: 1.0–1.9, P =0.042) even after adjusting for confounding variables. In conclusion, prevalence of undiagnosed HTN is high in India and this calls for regular screening.