Prevalence and Risk Factors of Hypertension in the Vietnamese Elderly

Hypertension (HT) is considered as a major determinant of cardiovascular complications. However, few studies have addressed HT prevalence among adults aged 60 years and older in the northern mountainous region of Vietnam.

To determine the prevalence of HT and its risk factors in the elderly in that area.

A cross-sectional study was conducted in a study area in the northern of Vietnam. We interviewed 354 adults aged 60 years or over who were randomly selected, and then measured their blood pressure.

The overall HT prevalence was 62.15%. The isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) prevalence was 22.88%. There was a slight decrease in the proportion of HT by stage 1, stage 2 and stage 3 respectively. The univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated some risk factors for HT including age groups, body mass index (BMI) and waist-hip ratio (WHR) (p < 0.05). Furthermore, we also found that the risk factors of ISH was obesity status classified by BMI category and WHR (p < 0.05). In particularly, the ethnicity was statistically significantly associated with ISH.

Our data showed a high prevalence of hypertension in the elderly in studied area. The risk factors for HT and ISH among studied subjects included age groups, ethnic groups, BMI and WHR. Hence, these findings are important for policy-making related to launch public health prevention and control campaigns for hypertension among older adults in the northern mountainous region of Vietnam.