Age-related modification effect on the association between body mass index and the risk of hypertension: A Cohort Study on Chinese people living in the rural areas / 中华流行病学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To study the modification effect of age on the association between body mass index and the risk of hypertension.Methods People age ≥ 18 years old were selected by clusters,from a rural area of Henan province.In total,20 194 people were recruited at baseline during 2007 and 2008,and the follow-up study was completed from 2013 to 2014.Logistic regression model was used to assess the risk of incident hypertension by baseline BMI and age-specific BMI.Results During the 6-year follow-up period,1 950 hypertensive persons were detected,including 784 men and 1 166 women,with cumulative incidence rates as 19.96％,20.51％,and 19.61％,respectively.Compared with those whose BMI＜22 kg/m2,the RRs of hypertension were 1.09 (0.93-1.27),1.17 (1.01-1.37),1.34 (1.14-1.58) and 1.31 (1.09-1.56) for participants with BMI as 22-,24-,26-and ≥28 kg/m2,respectively.In young and middle-aged populations,the risk of hypertension gradually increased with the rise of BMI (trend P＜0.05).However,in the elderly,the increasing trend on the risk of hypertension risk was not as significantly obvious (trend P＞0.05).Conclusion The effect of BMI on the incidence of hypertension seemed to depend on age.Our findings suggested that a weight reduction program would be more effective on young or middle-aged populations,to prevent the development of hypertension.