PREVALENCE OF PREHYPERTENSION AND HYPERTENSION AMONG TRIBAL ADULTS OF INDIA

Objective: The objective of the present study is to estimate the prevalence of essential hypertension and prehypertension among the tribes of India. Methods: We have conducted a cross-sectional study among1066 males and 1090 females (Total 2156) in the 20-60 years age group (years) belonging to nine major Indian tribes. The present study included nine tribes belonging to West Bengal (Santal, Oraon, and Kora), Odisha (Bhumij, Santal, and Bathudi), and Gujarat (Dhodia, Kukna, and Chaudhari). The prevalence of essential hypertension and prehypertension was estimated among the participants on the basis of gender and age (years). The selected tribal villages were identified on the basis of having access to basic amenities. Analysis of hypertension and prehypertension was also made among underweight, normal and overweight/obese individuals. Findings: The prevalence of prehypertension and essential hypertension among the studied tribes was found to be 15.1% and 11.8% respectively. High Risk Isolated Hypertension (HRIH) was observed to be more than 10 percent among 7 of the 9 tribes and as a result, the percentage of individuals at risk (Hypertensive + HRIH) jumps to more than 20.0% among all the tribes. Females showed higher prevalence for both prehypertension (15.5%) and essential hypertension (14.2%) as compared to males (14.7% and 9.3% respectively). Age group (years) wise differences showed a sharp rise in prevalence of hypertension from the age (years) category above 39 years. A possible early aging condition was observed among both males and females. The average SBP among the tribes was observed to be much higher than national average. About 9.0% of the individuals in low BMI (kg/m2) were hypertensive indicating undernutrition as a potential riskfactor for hypertension. Conclusion: The present findings exhibit women with higher rate of prevalence of hypertension along with an elevated risk for hypertension (higher percentage of prehypertensive women). The post 40 years period caries a higher vulnerability to CVD risks in the Indian tribal population. Additionally, an alarming prevalence of High Risk Isolated Systolic hypertension seems to have decisive roles if it gets converted to hypertension.