title: Anthropometric risk factors and predictors of hypertension among Saudi adult population - a national survey.
abstract: This cross-sectional study aimed at determining the anthropometric predictors of hypertension among adults in Saudi Arabia. Multi-stage stratified sampling was used to select 4758 adult participants. The average of three blood pressure measurements using an automatic sphygmomanometer was considered the real blood pressure. Anthropometric measurements and socio-demographics were obtained from participants. The overall prevalence of hypertension was 25.5%. Hypertension was significantly positively associated with selected anthropometric measurements. Selected anthropometric measures were significant predictors of systolic and diastolic blood pressures except for hip measurements. Waist for height ratio was a significant predictor for isolated diastolic hypertension and combined systolic and diastolic hypertension. Waist circumference was the significant predictor for isolated systolic hypertension. Body mass index was a significant predictor for the combined systolic diastolic type. Waist for Hip Ratio was not a significant predictor for any of the hypertension subtypes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Waist for height ratio is the most important predictor for blood pressure level and hypertension disease.
authors.affiliation: King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University - Health Sciences, Dept. of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, King Fahad Medical City, PO Box 58046, Riyadh 11525, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: saeed.abdalla@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Abdalla Abdelwahid
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Saeed
authors.forename: Nasser Abdurahman
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Al-Hamdan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D049628:Body Size; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012529:Saudi Arabia / Q000453:epidemiology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D055105:Waist Circumference; D049629:Waist-Hip Ratio
keywords: Adults; Anthropometrics; Hypertension; Predictors; Saudi Arabia