Association of waist and hip circumferences with the presence of hypertension and pre-hypertension in young South African adults.

BACKGROUND Obesity is one of the most important risk factors for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) including hypertension (HT) which is itself a risk factor for CVDs. Recent studies suggest that waist circumference (WC) may be more sensitive than Body Mass Index (BMI) in determining individual risk scores for CVDs. OBJECTIVES The current study aimed at investigating the influence of various anthropometric variables on blood pressure status in a group of students from Walter Sisulu University. METHODS Informed consent was obtained from 216 male and female students from Walter Sisulu University with a mean age of 22.1±0.2 years. Anthropometric measurements were performed for each participant. Blood pressure was measured in triplicates after 10 minutes of rest and the average computed. RESULTS Just over 46% of the subjects were diagnosed with hypertension (HT) and pre-HT. The gender specific prevalence of HT/pre-HT was higher in the male (76.7%) compared to the female (30.5%) group. Waist circumference (WC) and total body fat (TBF) correlated significantly with blood pressure and HT/pre-HT in females but not males. ROC analysis showed that with the exception of waist-to-hip (WHR), all other anthropometric measurements and ratios studied can be used to discriminate blood pressure in young adult females not males. CONCLUSION Increased WC and HC were associated with HT and pre-HT in young adult females in the Walter Sisulu University.