Impact of body mass index and waist circumference on blood pressure: A cross-sectional survey in a population living in the Vietnam northern mountainous.

AIMS: Several epidemiological studies have indicated that elevated blood pressure (BP) is associated with the surfeit of body weight. Body fat accumulation is considered as be a significant factor contributing to the nexus between obesity and hypertension. Two of the most common indicators used to characterize the associations of BP are body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC). This study was aimed to describe the differences in some characteristics among people aged 20 and above in three communes of a district in Vietnam and analyze the correlation between BMI and WC, and BP.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

We conducted a survey with a cross-sectional design of 734 subjects in three communes in Chiem Hoa district of the Vietnam northern mountainous region.

RESULTS

It was found that except for BMI, there were significant differences in some physical characteristics between genders (p < 0.05). Particularly, the effects on Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP) or Diastolic Blood Pressure (DBP) of WC were more significant than that of BMI in genders. The impacts of WC on SBP as well as DBP were also stronger than that of BMI in age groups with the cut-off point 60 than BMI.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides the science evidence in support of public and preventive health interventions to the locals residing in studied area. We recommend the existing correlations in subjects belonging to different ethnicities and continents.