Vol 39 # 2 June 2007 - Kma.org.kw

June 2007KUWAIT MEDICAL JOURNAL 117Table 1: Characteristics of the study sample (n= 860)Factors No. of Patients %SexMale 419 48.7Female 441 51.3Age (Years)21-30 247 28.731-40 307 35.741-50 177 20.651-60 98 11.461-70 31 3.6BMINormal < 25 277 32.2Over Weight (25-30) 315 36.6Obese (31-35) 154 17.9Morbid obese > 35 114 13.3SmokingYes 658 76.5No 202 23.5ExerciseYes 233 27.1No 627 72.9a c c o rding to the recommendations of BritishHypertension Society guidelines for hypertensionmanagement (1999), in order to standardize theexamination of the target subjects [ 11 - 1 3 ] . Measure m e n t sbegan after the subject had rested for five minutesand had avoided smoking and intake of caffeineduring the last half an hour. The patients wereseated in a comfortable chair with their backssupported and arms bared and supported at heartlevel. An appropriate cuff size was used to ensureaccurate measurement. The bladder within the cuffencircled at least 80% of the upper arm. Standardbladder measured 12-13 cm X 35 cm and weinflated the cuff to 30 mmHg above pulse occlusion.The systolic blood pressure was recorded at the firstappearance of a sound and the diastolic bloodpressure was recorded at the disappearance of thesound. Blood pressure was measured twice at twominuteintervals and if the readings differed bymore than 5 mmHg, an additional reading wastaken. We used calibrated mercury sphygmomanometers.Hypertension was diagnosed as per thecriteria laid down by the World Health Organization -International Society for Hypertension (1999). Apatient was labeled hypertensive if an average ofthree readings showed the systolic blood pressureto be 140 mmHg or greater and the diastolic bloodpressure to be 90 mmHg or greater.Data Collection:Data collection sheet included information suchas civil ID, (age, occupation and gender), presenceof life style risk factors like smoking, physicalinactivity or regular exercise (mild physical activityfor 30 minutes at least 3-4 times a week) andTable 2: The prevalence of hypertension and its co-relation withrisk factorsRisk Factors Hypertension p valueYesNon = 60 (7 %) n = 800 (93%)Age21-30 2 0.23 245 28.5 0.00031-40 14 1.62 293 34.241-50 25 2.90 152 17.851-60 13 1.51 85 9.961- 70 6 0.69 25 2.9Total 60 6.95 800 93.1BMI:normal (BMI 35 16 1.96 98 11.4Total 60 6.96 800 93.1ExerciseYes 5 .58 288 26.51 0.001No 55 6.39 572 66.51Total 60 6.97 800 93.02SmokingYes 51 5.93 193 22.44 0.000No 9 1.04 607 70.58Total 60 6.97 800 93.02 0.000measurement of height and weight and calculationof body mass index (BMI). For height and weightm e a s u rement, we used the Detecto-Scale Instru m e n t ,which was calibrated once a day before use.Statistical Analysis:Data was collected and analyzed using thestatistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version11. The chi-square test was used to comparecategorical variables and a p ≤ 0.005 was used as thecut-off level for statistical significance.RESULTSTable 1 shows the characteristics of patients inthe study sample. Male and female patients werealmost equally distributed in the samplepopulation (51.3%, 48.7% respectively). More thanone third of the study sample aged from 31-40 years(35.7%). About two thirds (68.8%) of the studysample had a BMI > 25 (overweight 36.6%, obese17.9% and morbidly obese 13.3%). Almost threequarters of the study sample were smokers and didnot exercise regularly (76.5%, 72.9% respectively).Table 2 shows the percentage of hypertensionwithin the study sample and its correlation withrisk factors. The prevalence of undiagnosedhypertension in the sample was 7%. In the currentstudy, a significant relationship between prevalenceof undiagnosed hypertension and BMI was foundin both sexes (p < 0.001). The prevalence ofhypertension in individuals with high BMI