Prevalence and risk factors of arterial hypertension among urban Africans in workplace: the obsolete role of body mass index.

Background: Studies on the prevalence of hypertension among Africans in workplace did not deal with risk factors of hypertension. Thus there is a need to screen urban central Africans at workplace for environmental risk factors of hypertension.

Method: A cross-sectional survey was conducted at the Kinshasa National Company of Electricity. A representative sample of 333 employees was screened. Tobacco, alcohol use and level of physical activity measures were obtained. Weight, height, BMI, waist, hip, conicity, blood pressure, pulse pressure and pulse rate were measured. Data were analysed using univariate and multivariate statistics.

Results: The prevalence of hypertension was 21.3%. Hypertension was associated with aging, higher professional position, eastern origin, migration, alcohol use, wider pulse pressure >60 mmHg, wider waist >90 cm, wider hip >97 cm, obesity, and left ventricle hypertrophy Independent predictors of hypertension were age, wider waist, wider hip, alcohol intake, and left ventricle hypertrophy. In another logistic regression model, only waist >90 cm (OR = 2.5 C1 95% 1.3-4.9; p < 0.01) and age =55 years were identified as significant predictors of hypertension.

Conclusion: There is a need to stop this high prevalence of hypertension significantly predicted by higher waist and age. BMI is inefficient to predict hypertension.