Ethnic Differences in the Prevalence of Hypertension in Colombia: Association With Education Level. (16th April 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lopez-Lopez, Jose P; Cohen, Daniel D; Alarcon-Ariza, Natalia; Mogollon-Zehr, Margarita; Ney-Salazar, Daniela; Chacon-Manosalva, Maria A; Martinez-Bello, Daniel; Otero, Johanna; Castillo-Lopez, Gabriela; Perez-Mayorga, Maritza; Rangarajan, Sumathy; Yusuf, Salim; Lopez-Jaramillo, Patricio
• Is Part Of: American journal of hypertension. Volume 35:Number 7(2022)
• Page Start: 610
• Page End: 618
• Publication Date: 2022-04-16
• Subjects: Colombia -- education level -- ethnicity -- hand grip strength -- hypertension; Hypertension -- Periodicals; 616.132005
• DOI: 10.1093/ajh/hpac051
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0895-7061

Abstract

Abstract: BACKGROUND: A higher prevalence of hypertension is reported among Afro-descendants compared with other ethnic groups in high-income countries; however, there is a paucity of information in low- and medium-income countries. METHODS: We evaluated 3, 745 adults from 3 ethnic groups (552 White, 2, 746 Mestizos, 447 Afro-descendants) enrolled in the prospective population-based cohort study (PURE)—Colombia. We assessed associations between anthropometric, socioeconomic, behavioral factors, and hypertension. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of hypertension was 39.2% and was higher in Afro-descendants (46.3%) than in Mestizos (37.6%) and Whites (41.5%), differences that were due to the higher prevalence in Afro-descendant women. Hypertension was associated with older age, increased body mass index, waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio, independent of ethnicity. Low education was associated with hypertension in all ethnic groups, and particularly in Afro-descendants, for whom it was the factor with the strongest association with prevalence. Notably, 70% of Afro-descendants had a low level of education, compared with 52% of Whites—26% of Whites were university graduates while only 7% of Afro-descendants were. We did not find that education level alone had a mediator effect, suggesting that it is not a causal risk factor for hypertension but is an indicator of socioeconomic status, itself an important determinant of hypertension prevalence. CONCLUSIONS: We found that a higher prevalence of hypertension in Colombian Afro-descendants than other ethnic groups. This was principally associated with their lower mean educational level, an indicator of lower socioeconomic status. Graphical Abstract: