Association of obesity with hypertension and type 2 diabetes and the role of the menopausal status

Background: In India, Punjab ranks one with 33.9% of population being overweight or obese and the prevalence is higher among women.Aim: The present cross-sectional study was carried out to find out the association of obesity with hypertension and type 2 diabetes among women and to further assess the impact of the menopausal status on it.Subjects and Methods: 595 working women (330-pre- and 265-postmenopausal) were personally interviewed for the study. Their body measurements were taken. Blood pressure and blood glucose were checked. Subjects were divided into non-obese and obese groups as per WHO guidelines. Prevalence of hypertension and type 2diabetes was calculated among non-obese and obese subjects as per standardized criteria.Results: The prevalence of pre-hypertension was 3.44 % and 13.24%, hypertension as 5.17% and 17.65%, and diabetes as 5.17% and 9.19%, respectively among non-obese and obese premenopausal subjects. Similarly, among non-obese and obese postmenopausal women, the prevalence of pre-hypertension was 7.40% and 13.03%, hypertension as 14.82% and 30.25%, and diabetes as 7.41% and 15.55%, respectively. Pearsona€ s correlation co-efficient reflects the association of BMI with Blood pressure.Conclusions: Obese women are at higher risk of hypertension and type 2 diabetes and the effect of obesity on these diseases seems to be independent of the menopausal status. But as the chi square test didna€ t reveal the significant differences between non-obese and obese groups, it is suggested that overweight or obesity might be contributing but is not the sole factor in the etiology of hypertension and type 2 diabetes.