Microlevel determinants of blood pressure among women of two ethnic groups in a periurban area of Kolkata city, India.
Blood pressure (BP) trends vary cross-culturally, and studies on the risk factors associated with hypertension are limited in periurban regions of India. This study was conducted to examine the effect of socioeconomic factors (income, expenditure, activity time) and anthropometric measurements (skinfolds of biceps, triceps, subscapular, supra iliac, and body mass index) on 102 Munda (tribe) and 135 Pod (caste) women of childbearing age in a periurban area of Kolkata city. Results indicate that Munda women had significantly higher diastolic BP in the 30+ age group. However, no difference in the systolic and diastolic BP was observed between the two groups, when the socioanthropometric factors were controlled as covariates. Also, according to the JNC (JNC, 2004, The JNC 7 Report NIH Publication No. 04-5230) classification of hypertension, no significant difference in hypertension was noted between the women of the two social groups. But the risk factors associated with hypertension varied between the two ethnic groups. Expenditure on alcohol and activity time was associated with hypertension among the Munda, while body mass index was significantly associated with hypertension among the Pod women. Alcohol consumption is a rare phenomenon among Indian women. Yet, Munda women in this transitional periurban environment, in spite of high poverty were more inclined to spent their earnings in alcohol consumption (due to their cultural preferences), increasing the risk of hypertension in their childbearing age.
Ghosh
Rohini
R
Epidemiology and Health Services Evaluation Department, S. Daniel Abraham International Center for Health and Nutrition, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel. rohini@bgumail.bgu.ac.il
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology*; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014504:Urban Health