Risk factors associated with hypertension in patients of the Hospital Cardiology service Dr. Abel Gilbert Pontoon.

Abstract

Introduction: Hypertension as a global public health problem contributes to a considerable risk factor for cardiac and cerebrovascular complications, causing premature disability.

Objective: To identify the risk factors that predispose to hypertension in patients who attend the cardiology service of Dr. Abel Gilbert pontoon Hospital.

Material and methods: A descriptive, transversal study was conducted, which included 404 patients who were treated in the cardiology service of the Guayaquil Dr. Albert Gilbert Pontoon Hospital in the year 2016. The variables analyzed were: Age, sex, weight, size, body mass index (BMI), nutritional status, level of academic instruction, physical activity, family history of hypertension, daily consumption of salt. The information was tabulated and processed, and presented in tables and charts, with the data in frequencies and percentages for the qualitative variables. In the quantitative variables the mean and the standard deviation were determined. The association between categorical variables was determined by the statistic Chi Cuadrado, and the degree of association and risk through the calculation of Odd Ratio, with a confidence interval of 95%, considering a value of p less than 0.05 as statistically Significant. The statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 for Windows of IBM was used for data processing and statistic analysis.

Result: The factors that were significantly associated with the presence of hypertension were: the level of academic instruction, the overincarceration/obesity, and age. The physical activity, the diet that had an increase in the consumption of salt, the family history of hypertension and sex were factors that were not associated with hypertension in the present study.

Conclusions: There is statistically significant association between hypertension and modifiable risk factors such as overweight/obesity, hip waist index and an unmodifiable risk factor such as academic instruction and age.