Abstract
This study aims to explore the association of anthropometric indices of obesity with hypertension in Chinese elderly and its possible gender and age differences. A total of 7070 adults age 60 or older were interviewed in a cross-sectional study conducted in 2017. Anthropometric indices for each participant were measured by using standard methods of trained doctoral/master students. We performed two binary logistic regression models to examine the association of the nine different anthropometric indices and hypertension by gender. Lastly, analyses were performed in two steps stratified for age. Comparing individuals with and without hypertension, there were statistically significant differences in anthropometric indices except height, a body shape index (ABSI), and hip index (HI) in males; and except height in females. There were gender differences in the relationship between anthropometric indices and the prevalence of hypertension in Chinese older adults. After stratification by age, the associations of all anthropometric indices became weaker, disappeared, or even went in the opposite direction. Furthermore, body mass index (BMI) in men (except individuals older than 80) and hip circumference (HC) in women showed a significant impact on the risk of hypertension. The association of anthropometric indices of obesity with hypertension in Chinese elderly differ by gender and age. These findings indicate a need to develop gender-specific strategies for the male and female elderly in the primary and secondary prevention of hypertension.
Highlights
Hypertension is the leading global risk factor of cardiovascular disease (CVD)
Stratified multi-stage random sampling was applied: in the first stage, six counties were selected from 137 counties as the primary sampling units (PSUs) throughout the eastern, central and western regions of Shandong province
These results suggested that hypertension is linked to obesity in both male and female elderly, which is inconsistent with previous studies that both overall and abdominal obesity are significantly associated with hypertension [34,35]
Summary
Hypertension is the leading global risk factor of cardiovascular disease (CVD). It contributes to nearly 9.4 million deaths worldwide annually [1,2]. In China, hypertension is common and its prevalence is rising. Almost 2.1 million cardiovascular deaths and 1.2 million premature cardiovascular deaths are attributed to hypertension [3]. A recent study showed that nearly half of Chinese adults ages 35–75 have hypertension.
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