Obesity as a predictor of hypertension in adult population: A 14-years retrospective cohort study

Background: Hypertension is one of the main health problems due to increasing numbers of incidence and its complications. However, cohort studies that evaluate the risk of hypertension among obese people are very limited.This study objective was to assess the risk of obesity associated with hypertension within 14 years of follow-up period in Indonesia. Method: Study design was cohort retrospective used a sample of Indonesia Family Life Survey/IFLS wave 3, 4 and 5.A total of 11,167 non-hypertension subjects in the year 2000 were evaluated in the year 2014 to assess the status of their hypertension. Data were collected by interview and blood-pressure measurement. Hypertension was defined using the JNC 7th criteria.The data were analysed by Cox-regression. Results: The total case number of hypertension in 14 years was 3655 cases, the cumulative incidence was 32,7%, and the hazard rate was 29 per 1000 person-years. The risk of hypertension in subjects with obese was 1.84 times compared with non-obese subjects (95% CI: 1.68 - 2.01) adjusted by other covariates. Based on the degree of obesity, subjects with obese II and obese I increased the risk of hypertension with HR were 2.43 (95% CI: 1.99 - 2.96) and 1,73 (95% CI: 1.57 - 1.91) respectively. Conclusions: The risk of hypertension in obese people was significantly increased than the non-obese people, with an exposure-response relationship.