Original Article

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2006) 60, 1355–1366. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602465; published online 21 June 2006

Epidemiology of obesity and hypertension and related risk factors in Uzbekistan

Guarantor: V Mishra.

Contributors: VM planned the analysis, conducted literature review and drafted the paper. RH carried out data handling and analysis. FA, GS and AM contributed to the interpretation of results and revision of the paper.

V Mishra1, F Arnold1, G Semenov1, R Hong1 and A Mukuria1

1ORC Macro, Calverton, MD, USA

Correspondence: Dr V Mishra, Demographic and Health Research Division, ORC Macro, 11785 Beltsville Drive, Calverton, MD 20705, USA. E-mail: vinod.mishra@orcmacro.com

Received 15 August 2005; Revised 21 April 2006; Accepted 9 May 2006; Published online 21 June 2006.

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Abstract

Objective:

 

This study examined the prevalence of obesity and hypertension and associated behavioral risk factors in adult men and women in Uzbekistan. The study also examined the association between obesity and hypertension.

Method:

 

The analysis used data from the 2002 Uzbekistan Health Examination Survey, which included a nationally representative sample of 2333 men aged 15–59 years and 5463 women aged 15–49 years. The survey measured height, weight and blood pressure and included questions on physical activity, dietary habits, tobacco smoking, alcohol use and other characteristics. The analysis was conducted using binary and multinomial logistic regression methods, separately for men and women.

Results:

 

Eating animal source protein and tobacco smoking in the past were positively associated with obesity, but there were no consistent associations with other dietary indicators, physical activity level or alcohol use. Obese men and women were about three times as likely to suffer from hypertension as those with a normal BMI (odds ratio (OR)=3.01; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.67–5.44; P<0.001 for men and OR=2.82; 95% CI: 2.05–3.86; P<0.001 for women), independent of physical activity level, dietary habits, tobacco smoking and other factors. For men, the risk of hypertension was strongly positively associated with BMI only at BMI levels above 25 kg/m2, but for women a positive relationship was observed at all BMI levels.

Conclusion:

 

The study found a strong positive association between obesity and hypertension in adult men and women in Uzbekistan. The shape of the relationship between BMI and hypertension is different for women than for men, requiring further research to explore this relationship.

Keywords:

physical activity, body mass index, obesity, blood pressure, hypertension, Uzbekistan

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