Abstract P268: Impact of Overweight and Obesity in Prevalence and Management of Hypertension

Abstract

Background: Obesity defined by body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) can affect the epidemiology of hypertension differently, however, there were not enough large national wide hypertension studies using two measurements. Some research reported both were associated with diseases including hypertension in a different way such as gender-specifically. So, we will evaluate the prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension according to obese status using nationally representative data Materials and Methods: Among adults aged ≥19 years who participated in the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2008 and 2010, a total of 20,578 subjects (8,777 men and 11,801 women) were analyzed according to BMI and WC. General obesity was defined as BMI ≥ 25 kg/m 2 and abdominal obesity was defined as WC ≥ 90 cm in men and ≥ 80 cm in women, both of which were based on the Asian-pacific criteria. We applied a blood pressure goal of less than 150/90 mmHg for patients 60 years of age or older who did not have diabetes or chronic kidney disease. Patients 18 to 59 years of age without major comorbidities, and those 60 years of age or older who had diabetes, chronic kidney disease, or both conditions, the new blood pressure goal is less than 140/90 mmHg. Results: There was the significant increase in the prevalence of hypertension as BMI and WC increased in both genders. Prevalence of hypertension in men was 21.1%, 30.7%, 39.6%, 51.6% with BMI less than 23 kg/m 2 (normal weight), less than 25 kg/m 2 and more than 23 kg/m 2 (overweight), less than 30 kg/m 2 and more than 25 kg/m 2 (obese grade I), more than 30 kg/m 2 (obese grade II), respectively. Prevalence of hypertension in women was 13.1%, 27.4%, 40.2%, and 49.2% in each BMI group. In addition, a prevalence of hypertension was higher in obese individuals than non-obese individuals in all age groups. In women, awareness increased as BMI and WC increased ( p for trend <0.001), whereas, control rate has been significantly decreased with increasing BMI ( p for trend = 0.02). With increasing WC in women, control of blood pressure among treated persons also tended to decrease ( p for trend = 0.04). However, control rate was not different according to both general and abdominal obese status in men. Compared to those in other age groups, young obese adults less than 40 years had the relatively lower prevalence of hypertension (34.3%) but also had lower awareness (16.8%) and treatment (60.7%). Conclusion: Our findings show that prevalence of hypertension was associated with increasing BMI and WC in both genders, suggesting that obese persons were prone to have hypertension. Control of blood pressure in women was decreased with increasing BMI and WC, suggesting that obese women might be an important target for hypertension control. Lower awareness and treatment of hypertension in young obese adults are not negligible.