Correlation study of socio-demographic factors like gender, age, body mass index and some cardiovascular parameters in hypertensive subjects of Yenagoa, Bayelsa state, Nigeria
Hypertension is defined as a sustained elevated arterial pressure to a level that places the patient at increased risk of organ damage. It is a non-communicable disease which constitutes a public health importance. Its risk factors include advancing age, high salt intake, excessive alcohol consumption and stress. This study was performed to determine the correlation between some socio-demographic factors like gender, age, body mass index (BMI) and some cardiovascular parameters in hypertensive patients of Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The study was carried out with 400 hypertensive subjects, whose blood pressures were determined using palpatory and auscultatory methods. The gender, age and body mass index of the subjects were also determined. Statistical analysis was done using Z-statistics. We found a significant positive relationship between the age and cardiovascular parameters. Gender and BMI were found to have an insignificant positive correlation with the cardiovascular parameters. The study demonstrated that body mass index, age and gender are closely associated with cardiovascular parameters, though the degree of correlation differed. The risk of hypertension is therefore expected to be higher among the aged and populations who are overweight or obese.