%0 Journal Article
%T Sexual Dimorphism in Blood Pressure and Hypertension among Adult Parengi Porjas of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India
%A I. Arjun Rao
%A Adimoolam Chandrasekhar
%A Venugopal N. Pulamaghatta
%A Subal Das
%A Kaushik Bose
%J Journal of Anthropology
%D 2014
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2014/374649
%X The present study investigated blood pressure levels as well as the prevalence of hypertension among adult Parengi Porja tribals of village Munchingput Mandalam, Visakhapatnam district, Andhra Pradesh, India. A cross-sectional study was used to collect data on systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and pulse rate. A total of 137 adults (100 males and 37 females) were measured and classified into three age groups, that is, Gr-I: 23 to 32 years, Gr-II: 33 to 42 years, and Gr-III: ¡Ý 43 years. Negative significant sex difference in SBP among age group I ( ; ) was observed. Positive significant sex difference in DBP among age group I ( ; ) was also observed. Significant age group difference was noticed for SBP ( ; ) among males. Based on SBP, the prevalence of prehypertension and stage I hypertension in males was 25.0% and 5.0%, respectively. Similarly, in females the prevalence of prehypertension and stage I hypertension based on SBP was 32.4% and 5.4%, respectively. On the basis of DBP, the prevalence of stage I hypertension in males was 5.0%. Similarly, in females, the prevalence of stage I hypertension based on DBP was 5.4%. Our results suggest that females of this ethnic group were more prone to have prehypertension and stage I hypertension than males. 1. Introduction Hypertension is a major modifiable risk factor, which significantly and independently increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CV) complications. On the other hand, an effective treatment of hypertension substantially reduces the risk of developing such complications [1]. Although importance of blood pressure as a risk factor in cardiovascular disease is well established [2¨C4], how blood pressure is influenced by different environmental factors is the key for the understanding of coronary diseases. The people of South Asian origin have increased cardiovascular risk due to more centralized deposition of body fat with higher mean of WC and WHR compared to Europeans [5¨C7]. Since hypertension is an ideal identifiable target to reduce global cardiovascular risk, it is clear that effective strategies, aimed at improving high BP control in the general population of hypertensive patients, represent a fundamental step of any preventive strategy in our country. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to screen adults Porjas, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PTG) of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India, for blood pressure and hypertension status. Hitherto, information on blood pressure among adult Porja tribals of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh,
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/janthro/2014/374649/