Prevalence of Hypertension and its Association with Body Mass Index among College Students

A sample of 1000 urban and rural college students in the age group of 18-25 yrs were randomly selected from six colleges of Hoshiarpur district of Punjab. The prevalence of hypertension among college students was found to be 19.2 % with higher prevalence among males (22%) as compared to females (18%). The rural males (26 vs 18) and females (17 vs 16) were found to be highly affected. The findings further revealed higher percentage of females (44%) in the underweight category as compared to males (28%). On the similar lines high percentage of subjects were found to be underweight (51 % females and 33 % males). Both systolic and diastolic blood pressure showed significant correlation (p < 0.01) with pocket money and Body Mass Index, whereas diastolic blood pressure was significantly correlated (p < 0.01) with monthly family income. The relationship of associated risk factors of hypertension was found to be positive with malnutrition, staging higher risk of hypertension in underweight as well as overweight subjects.