Diet and nutritional status of essential systemic hypertensive adults in jabalpur city of madhya pradesh, india

Background: Hypertension remains a global asymptomatic non-communicable disease and a preventable risk factor but often leads to health complications, if untreated. Many factors seem to be responsible for influencing hypertension; however, the role of dietary factors and nutrients still remains unclear and needs to be explored. Objectives: The objective of the present study was to assess the nutritional status of systemic hypertensive adults and to find the correlation of nutrients with age of the hypertensive adults. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study with purposive random sampling was conducted wherein a government Medical college of Jabalpur city and some leading physicians were requested to send 200 newly diagnosed hypertensive cases in the age group of above 20-59 years for voluntary participation in the study. The subjects were enrolled in the study after taking their informed written consent. The subjects were interviewed through pilot tested questionnaire consisting of general information, clinical history, socio-demographic information, dietary patterns along with their anthropometric measurements. Results: The prevalence of hypertension was maximum in the age group of 39-49 years affecting both males and females of similar age group. Out of 200 hypertensive cases, 78 (39%) subjects were had family history of hypertension. The nutritional status of the study subjects was assessed wherein 52% hypertensive subjects were found to be over-weight and obese. Meal intake by study subjects was majorly thrice a day (52%). Signs of nutritional deficiencies were found in 44.5% of study subjects. Further Univariate analysis predicted positive association of consumption of different nutrients statistically significant for calories, fibre, and potassium and zinc intake in different age groups. Conclusion: An integrated approach of community based intervention with support from healthcare providers on prevention of hypertension is suggested for early detection and management of hypertension.