Background: Hypertension (HT) is a serious problem in the adult population, particularly among individuals who are living in poor economic conditions and have a low education level. This study aimed to determine the associations between lifestyle and HT among adult hill tribe populations in Thailand.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to gather information on several risk behaviors related to HT among the hill tribe population aged 30 years and older by using a validated questionnaire and 5 mL blood specimens. The study was conducted in 30 selected hill tribe villages in Chiang Rai Province, Northern Thailand. Logistic regression was used to detect the associations.
Results: A total of 2552 participants participated in the project; 65.9% were female, 72.4% were aged 40-69 years, and 54.2% were Buddhist. The overall prevalence of HT was 33.7%. After controlling for all potential confounding variables, two variables were found to be associated with HT: participants who used moderate (AOR=1.57; 95% CI=1.03-3.76) and high amounts (AOR=1.59; 95% CI=1.05-3.78) of oil for cooking had greater odds of having HT than those who used small amounts. Those who had low (AOR=1.45; 95% CI=1.13-1.88), moderate (AOR=2.68; 95% CI=1.80-8.78), and high (AOR=1.61; 95% CI=1.36-7.26) levels of depression had greater odds of having HT than those who were not depressed.
Conclusions: Effective public health programs that focus on reducing the use of daily oil for cooking and decreasing the prevalence of depression in hill tribe people are urgently needed.
Keywords: Hill tribe; Hypertension; Lifestyle behaviors; Prevalence.
© 2021. W. Montague Cobb-NMA Health Institute.