Sex differences in the risk profile of hypertension: a cross-sectional study

Objective: To assess the socioeconomic and behavioural risk factors associated with hypertension among a sample male and female population in India. Setting: Cross-sectional survey data from a Health and Demographic Surveillance System ( HDSS) of rural West Bengal, India was used. Participants: 27 589 adult individuals ( 13 994 males and 13 595 females), aged >= 18 years, were included in the study. Primary and secondary outcome measures: Hypertension was defined as mean systolic blood pressure ( SBP) >= 140 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure ( DBP) >= 90 mm Hg, or if the subject was undergoing regular antihypertensive therapy. Prehypertension was defined as SBP 120-139 mm Hg and DBP 80-89 mm Hg. Individuals were categorised as non-normotensives, which includes both the prehypertensives and hypertensives. Generalised ordered logit model ( GOLM) was deployed to fulfil the study objective. Results: Over 39% of the men and 25% of the women were prehypertensives. Almost 12.5% of the men and 11.3% of the women were diagnosed as hypertensives. Women were less likely to be nonnormotensive compared to males. Odds ratios estimated from GOLM indicate that women were less likely to be hypertensive or prehypertensive, and age ( OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.05; and OR 1.08, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.09 for males and females, respectively) and body mass index ( OR 1.64, 95% CI 1.38 to 1.97 for males; and OR 1.32, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.60 for females) are associated with hypertension. Conclusions: An elevated level of hypertension exists among a select group of the rural Indian population. Focusing on men, an intervention could be designed for lifestyle modification to curb the prevalence of hypertension.