Prevalence of arterial hypertension and associated factors: a population-based study

OBJECTIVE To estimate the prevalence of hypertension in adults and analyze its association with socioeconomic, demographic, and lifestyle risk factors. METHODS Home-based cross-sectional epidemiological study conducted with adults of both sexes living in the cities of Teresina and Picos (PI). The prevalence of hypertension was estimated by self-reported diagnosis. The associations between hypertension and the following variables were tested: age, gender, skin color, education, family income, marital status, alcohol and cigarette consumption, physical activity, and nutritional status. RESULTS A total of 1,057 adult individuals with a mean age of 38.6 ± 11.5 years participated in the study, of which 62.3% were female. The prevalence of hypertension in the population was 16.4%. In the crude analysis, a significant association was observed between the prevalence of hypertension and factors such as older age, lower education, single marital status, brown skin color, smoking, and overweight (p < 0.05). However, after adjustments, only the associations with older age, brown skin color, sedentary lifestyle and overweight remained significant. CONCLUSION Older age, brown skin color, sedentary lifestyle, and the presence of overweight or obesity were significantly associated with hypertension. Among the modifiable risk factors, a sedentary lifestyle and overweight stand out as important for the genesis of hypertension, subject to intervention measures.