title: The influence of family history of hypertension on disease prevalence and associated metabolic risk factors among Sri Lankan adults.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hypertension is a major contributor to the global non-communicable disease burden. Family history is an important non-modifiable risk factor for hypertension. The present study aims to describe the influence of family history (FH) on hypertension prevalence and associated metabolic risk factors in a large cohort of South Asian adults, from a nationally representative sample from Sri Lanka.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional survey among 5,000 Sri Lankan adults, evaluating FH at the levels of parents, grandparents, siblings and children. A binary logistic regression analysis was performed in all patients with 'presence of hypertension' as dichotomous dependent variable and using family history in parents, grandparents, siblings and children as binary independent variables. The adjusted odds ratio controlling for confounders (age, gender, body mass index, diabetes, hyperlipidemia and physical activity) are presented below.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In all adults the prevalence of hypertension was significantly higher in patients with a FH (29.3%, n = 572/1951) than those without (24.4%, n = 616/2530) (p < 0.001). Presence of a FH significantly increased the risk of hypertension (OR:1.29; 95% CI:1.13-1.47), obesity (OR:1.36; 95% CI: 1.27-1.45), central obesity (OR:1.30; 95% CI 1.22-1.40) and metabolic syndrome (OR:1.19; 95% CI: 1.08-1.30). In all adults presence of family history in parents (OR:1.28; 95% CI: 1.12-1.48), grandparents (OR:1.34; 95% CI: 1.20-1.50) and siblings (OR:1.27; 95% CI: 1.21-1.33) all were associated with significantly increased risk of developing hypertension.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results show that the prevalence of hypertension was significantly higher in those with a FH of hypertension. FH of hypertension was also associated with the prevalence of obesity, central obesity and metabolic syndrome. Individuals with a FH of hypertension form an easily identifiable group who may benefit from targeted interventions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka. priyanga.ranasinghe@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Priyanga
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ranasinghe
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka. dilininc@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Dilini N
authors.initials: DN
authors.lastname: Cooray
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia. ranil7@gmail.com.|Diabetes Research Unit, Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Kynsey Road, Colombo, Sri Lanka. ranil7@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ranil
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jayawardena
authors.affiliation: Diabetes Research Unit, Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Kynsey Road, Colombo, Sri Lanka. pkatulanda@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Prasad
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Katulanda
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D056128:Obesity, Abdominal / Q000453:epidemiology; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013188:Sri Lanka / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult