Age specific relation in blood pressure with some anthropometrical variables of women in Latvia: a rural-urban comparison

Abstract

The aims of this study were to describe and compare the relationships between some variables of anthropometrical measurements and the blood pressure of women according to the age group categories in the urban and the rural population in Latvia. For this purpose 369 women (urban, 197 and rural, 172) were anthropometrically examined during the period of 2001–2005. The body height, the body weight, three circumferences (chest, waist, hip) and four skinfolds (biceps, triceps, subscapular, suprailiac) were measured. The body mass index (BMI) was calculated and studied. The difference between rural and urban women in systolic, diastolic and mean arterial blood pressure was found to be statistically significant. All the variables of the anthropometrical measurements and the age were significantly positive with blood pressure. The relationships between the variables of anthropometrical measurements and the age were assessed through the stepwise multiple regression analysis. All the anthropometrical variables appear as significant predictors of blood pressure and enter the regression equations in urban and rural populations of women in Latvia. Future studies, based on the interpretation of anthropometric measurements and their changes in the urban and rural women aged 21–45 years in Latvia, should also be carried out.