Association between blood pressure and anthropometric indicators of obesity among elderly rural women of India

Pages: 950-953
Sayani Das and Shivani Chandel (Department of Anthropology, University of Delhi, Delhi)

High blood pressure was known to have deleterious effects on elderly health. In India, very few studies included elderly women and fewer have focused exclusively on rural population. The current study aimed to find out the association between different anthropometric indicators of obesity and blood pressure levels in the rural population of India. Data was collected on 206 elderly Jat community women aged 60+ years in rural population of Palwal district of Haryana. Dependable variable BP was assessed using oscillometric method and independent variable included BMI, WC and WHR, categorized using WHO criteria. Analyses were adjusted for age. The relationship of blood pressure with BMI, WC and WHR shows positive correlation. Binary logistic regression model reveals that BMI >27.5 kg/m² category was 4.87 times and BMI 23.0-27.5 kg/m² was 2.37 times more likely to have hypertension. Higher WC participants were 1.08 times and higher WHR participants 1.88 times more prone to be hypertensive than normal WC and WHR. Basic anthropometric indicators for obesity remains useful marker for higher blood pressure in the present study. So for healthy aging, obesity should be kept in the normal range by focusing more on proper diet and exercise.