European Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine

Hypertension is the commonest cardiovascular disorder and a major public health problem. The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee (JNC 7) defined pre-hypertension as persons with blood pressure (BP) above optimal levels [systolic BP (SBP) of 120-139 mm Hg or diastolic BP (DBP) of 80-89 mm Hg]. Community-based studies in India have demonstrated close to a third of the studied population with pre-HTN.[1] The incidence of pre-hypertension and hypertension among young adults is increasing day by the day.[2 ] In a multi-center study across 11 cities in India, the prevalence of prehypertension was found to be 40.2% among males and 30.1% in females.3The prevalence of prehypertension among medical students in a study conducted in Orissa was 67%.[3]

Similar study in Karnataka have brought to light the prevalence of prehypertension among medical students. [4]

Stress is a major risk factor postulated in the development of hypertension. The current changes in life style, personal habits and work environment have been attributed to the increasing incidence of hypertension among young adults. [5] Residency training is a high performance, high pressure job. There can be no denying the fact that residents work under a lot of stress and therefore are subject to higher chances of developing hypertension and its complications.[6]

The higher the Blood pressure, higher the risk of both stroke and coronary events. The increased incidence of complications of hypertension in young resident doctors would lead to increased morbidity and mortality resulting in loss of precious man-hours; and put a strain on the government exchequer. In addition, Physicians are expected to diagnose and treat patients. It is however presumed that they would be aware of the risks of hypertension and would be taking care of their own health.[7]

STUDY DESIGN: Cross sectional study

 Study Type : To Study the prevalence of pre-hypertension and risk factors among resident doctors and to correlate pre-hypertension and risk factors in this specific Population

 SETTING: The study was carried out at Acharya Vinoba Bhave Hospital, Sawangi (Meghe), a 1200 bedded multispecialty tertiary Centre situated in Wardha, Maharashtra

 INCLUSION CRITERIA:

• Resident doctors working at Acharya Vinoba Bhave Hospital, Sawangi (Meghe), Wardha.

 EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

• Subjects already diagnosed with hypertension and on cardio active medications.
• Subjects not willing to give consent.

Among the 155 patients, most of the study population belongs to the age group of 25 to 27 years (76.1%) followed by 28 to 30 years (23.9%). Out of 155 Patients 90(58.1%) were male, and 65(41.9%) were female. Prehypertension was observed in 44.5% of individuals, while 55.5% had normal blood pressure. Notably, 23.9% of patients reported tobacco use, whereas 76.1% did not. Alcohol use was prevalent in 36.1% of cases, while 63.9% abstained. Regarding lifestyle, 54.2% admitted to consuming junk food, and 51% engaged in regular physical activity. A total of 57.4% reported regular fruit intake, whereas 30.4% admitted to added salt consumption. The mean age was 26.59 years, with a BMI of 23.8 kg/m². The waist/hip ratio averaged 0.79, systolic blood pressure was 123.57 mm Hg, and diastolic blood pressure was 76.50 mm Hg. These findings provide a snapshot of the patients' demographics and health-related characteristics

The Joint National Commission 7 (JNC 7) on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Pressure, released in May 2003, caused a flutter, when it introduced a new term /stage in the spectrum of hypertension, by introducing the concept of “prehypertension” which referred to those persons with a systolic blood pressure of 120-139 or diastolic BP of 80-89.

Our study concludes that the prevalence of prehypertension is significantly higher than expected in this specific population. There was no statistically significant difference in prevalence of prehypertension across different age groups. There was a significant difference in prevalence of prehypertension among males and females with prevalence of prehypertension being higher in males. Prevalence of prehypertension was significantly more in study population having risk factors like tobacco use, alcohol use, use of added salt, junk food, reduced number of hours of sleep per day, sedentary lifestyle.

1. Yadav S, Boddula R, Genitta G, Bhatia V, Bansal B, Kongara S, Julka S, Kumar A, Singh HK, Ramesh V, Bhatia E. Prevalence & risk factors of pre- hypertension & hypertension in an affluent north Indian population. Indian Journal of Medical Research. 2008 Dec 1;128(6):712-21
2. Pletcher MJ, Bibbins-Domingo K, Lewis CE, Wei GS, Sidney S, Carr JJ, et al. Prehypertension during adulthood and coronary calcium later in life. Ann Intern Med. 2008;149:147–9
3. Gupta R, Deedwania PC, Achari V, Bhansali A, Gupta BK, Gupta A, et al Normotension, prehypertension, and hypertension in urban middle-class subjects in India: prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control. Am J Hypertens. 2013;26(1):83-94.
4. Patnaik A, Choudhury KC. Assessment of risk factors associated with hypertension among undergraduate medical students in a medical college in Odisha. Adv Biomed Res. 2015;4:38.
5. Kulkarni MM, Hemagiri K, Malavika, Patil RS. Prehypertension and associated factors among medical students of SSIMS & RC, Davangere--a cross-sectional study. J Indian Med Assoc. 2011;109(10):733-6
6. Lindquist TL, Beilin LJ, Knuiman MW. Influence of lifestyle, coping, and job stress on blood pressure in men and women. Hypertension. 1997;29(1 Pt 1):1-7
7. Colford JM Jr, McPhee SJ. The ravelled sleeve of care. Managing the stresses of residency training. JAMA. 1989;261(6):889-93.
8. Verma V, Singh SK. Prevalence of Hypertension in Gujarati School going children and adolescents in Anand District. Natnl J Comm Med 2012;3:452- 7
9. National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau. Technical Report No. 25. Diet and Nutritional Status of Tribal Population and Prevalence of Hypertension among Adults - Report on Second Repeat Survey: National Institute of Nutrition 2009;195
10. Chaudhry K, Diwan SK, Mahajan SN. Prehypertension in young females, where do they stand? Indian Heart J 2012;64:280-3