Hypovitaminosis D, Dyslipidaemia and Thyroid Dysfunction Among Adolescents and Their Associations With Raised Blood Pressure in a North Eastern City of India

Abstract

Background: Raised blood pressure (BP) has been found to be associated with serum levels of vitamin D3, lipid profile and thyroid hormones among adults. But limited information is available regarding such associations in adolescents. Objectives To estimate the prevalence vitamin D3 deficiency, dyslipidaemia and thyroid dysfunction among secondary school students of Agartala municipal corporation area and to study their associations with raised BP. Methods: This school based cross-sectional study was conducted during April 2018 to December 2018 among 1000 students studying in different secondary level schools located in Agartala municipal corporation area chosen by multi stage sampling technique ensuring proportionate representation in the sample. Result: Prevalence of vitamin D3 deficiency, thyroid dysfunction and dyslipidaemia were found to be 79.4%, 62.8% and 37.5% respectively. Out of total, 58.1% of the study subjects had raised BP, 34.1% were fatty, 16.7% were overweight, 5.3% were obese and 48.3% had high waist hip ratio (WHR). Among all, 82.27% subjects with high BMI, 70.97% fatty subjects and 69.05% subjects with either low or normal WHR had significantly elevated BP (p 0.05). Binary logistic regression has identified higher BMI, higher body fat content, high WHR, habit of consuming extra salt and fast food on regular basis as the significant determinants of raised BP in this population (p<0.05). Conclusion: Though vitamin D deficiency, thyroid dysfunction and dyslipidaemia are prevalent among adolescents of Northeast India, they did not emerge as significant determinants of blood pressure in them. Funding Statement: Department of Health Research (DHR), Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of India, New Delhi through Multidisciplinary Research Unit, AGMC. Declaration of Interests: There is no conflict of interest. Ethics Approval Statement: Informed written consent document for participation in this study was handed over to participating students for obtaining consent from their guardians. This study was approved by the institutional ethics committee of Agartala Government Medical College.