Blood pressure in women in the First National Survey of Health and Nutrition of Indigenous Peoples in Brazil.

Abstract

Estimating average blood pressure levels and prevalence of arterial hypertension (AH) and associated factors is essential to monitoring health and planning actions to combat noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in Indigenous peoples in Brazil. This is a cross-sectional study that investigated average blood pressure levels and prevalence of arterial hypertension in 4,680 Indigenous women (aged 18-49 years), using data from the 1st National Survey of Health and Nutrition of Indigenous Peoples (2008-2009) and associated factors, such as through gamma regression and multilevel logistics. The prevalence of hypertension was 10.7%, varying across macro-regions: North, Northeast, Midwest, and South/Southeast. Women who lived in villages without domestic waste collection and in households without stable income were more likely to have AH. Increasing BMI and age were positively associated with the chances of developing high blood pressure. In the model for DBP, unlike education, the variables stable household income, BMI, and age were positively associated. In the model for SBP, there was a negative association with education, in the medium and high strata of the household goods index and in households with no stable income, and a positive association with the housing indicator, BMI and age.