ANTHROPOMETRIC VARIABLES AND BLOOD PRESSURE OF ADULTS IN IKWUANO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, ABIA STATE.

                                                                                                         

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION                                                                   

Hypertension is defined as systolic and/or diastolic blood pressure of 140/90 mmHg or more and/or medication use for decreasing hypertension (Lebeau et al., 2014; Alhalaiqa et al., 2014). The world health organization (WHO) categories high blood pressure (BP) as the top risk factor for death rate, accounting for 13% of fatalities globally. Also, hypertension or “silent killer” as it is also known has been recognized as an important risk factor for cardiac arrest, stroke, kidney disease and increased mortality rates in adults (WHO, 2014). 

 In 2014, WHO announced that 39% (two billion) of the world’s adults were overweight and 13% (600million) were obese (WHO, 2014). The conditions of overweight and obesity are connected to more fatalities globally than being underweight. Also most of the earth’s population live in places where being overweight and obese kills more people than those who are underweight (This contains all high-income and most middle-income nations) (WHO, 2014).

 

Many studies have offered clear evidence that decreasing weight with a healthy diet and exercise can help individuals with high blood pressure (Campbell and Meckling, 2012; Tawalbeh et al., 2013; Batiha, 2014). Although there are many anthropometric indices that have been used to measure obesity, there is a debate about which of these anthropometric indices best defined obesity and contributes to the highest risk for causing hypertension (Wahar et al., 2012). The early detection of hypertension and identifying risk factors relating to high blood pressure would be an important preventive measures in the population .In Jordan, there are many studies that discuss obesity and hypertension (AlBashtawy et al., 2014).

According to Fosbol and Zerahn (2014), anthropometry is a strong tool in estimating body composition and specific distribution from models that utilize body circumferences and skinfolds. Hypertension is said to be greater than 130/90mmHg taken on three separate occasions and in different positions after a period of rest using a good and functioning sphygmomanometer. Normal blood pressure in an adult is approximately 120 millimtres of mercury (16kPa) systolic and 80 millimeters of mercury (11kPa) diastolic, (i.e. 120/80mmHg). The average blood pressure, age standardized, has remained about the same since 1975 to present at approximately 127/79mmHg in men and 122/77mmHg in women (Barlow et al., 2012).  In developing Countries such as Nigeria, the habit of routine check of one’s blood pressure is ones blood pressure is not common to practice. Most patients become aware of the problem when they go to the hospital for other related or unrelated ailment. Moreover, many people do not pay particular attention to what they eat, they consume whatever is available and affordable (Onimawo and Cole, 2003). Blood pressure, however, is influenced by cardiac output, total peripheral resistance and arterial stiffness and varies depending on situation, emotional state, activity and relative health/disease conditions (MacGill, 2019). The blood pressure that is low is called hypotension and the blood pressure that is consistently high is hypertension (MacGill, 2019).

Blood pressure (BP) is one of the vital signs along with respiratory rate, heart rate, oxygen saturation and body temperature that is influenced by anthropometric characteristics of the human body (Cassani et al., 2009). Thus, elevated blood pressure is a well-recognized risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, like coronary artery disease, stroke and heart failure (Cassani et al., 2009). That is to say, heart failure, stroke, and coronary artery disease are some of the various cardiovascular diseases associated with high blood pressure (hypertension) (Cassani et al., 2009). Meanwhile, many people with hypertension (elevated blood pressure) are unaware of their condition, and among those with hypertension, treatment is infrequent and inadequate (Ghosh and Bose, 2018). Therefore, there should be basic data on the prevalent socio-economic status together with and nutritional status of Ikwuano inhabitants that may have contributed to the increase of this disease in order to carry out a massive campaign on this menace. Amoah (2004) claimed that consumption of docosahexaenoic acid omega -3-fatty acids may reduce the risk of hypertension. There is a strong scientific evidence that omega-3-fatty acids significantly reduce blood triglyceride levels and regular intake reduce the risk of secondary and primary hypertension (Burt et al., 1997). Gelber et al. (2007), observed that although obesity is known to increase the risk of hypertension, which is elevated blood pressure, few studies have evaluated body mass index (BMI) across various ranges as a primary risk factor. Also, reports about cardiovascular diseases, a leading cause of morbidity and mortality, in relations to anthropometric factors are very limited in Sub-Saharan Africa and in Nigeria (Adedoyin et al., 2008). Such knowledge gap is a potential danger to Nigerian adult population because failure to understand their anthropometric variables can trigger blood pressure thereby leading to such health problems like coronary artery disease, stroke, and heart failure. Cassani et al. (2009) noted that much exists about the most adequate anthropometric variables for detecting increased adiposity, especially in men, were abdominal fat accumulation may not be detected by many traditional indexes of obesity, like BMI.

The general objective of this study is to determine the relationship between Anthropometric Status and blood pressure among adults in Ikwuano Local Government Area, Abia state

The specific objective are to:

ii   determine  the Anthropometric variables of adults in Ikwuano

iii   evaluate  the blood pressure of adults

For the health practitioners, the findings of this study will be useful to health practitioners by providing anthropometric information such as weight and BMI that may serve as medical history use for medications and for the knowledge of cardiovascular risk factors cum demographic data. It will help to reveal the level of overweight or obesity among the participants and thus provide on-hand information for health practitioners.