Body fat distribution and other anthropometric blood pressure correlates in a Nigerian urban elderly population

Abstract

Blood pressure (BP) has been reported to be more consistently correlated with body mass index (BMI) than with waist-hip ratio (WHR) in Blacks. We present the correlates of BP in a systematic sample of 152 (65,7 pc response rate) elderly urban Nigerians, with a mean age of 72,7 yrs. +/-12,1 for males and 73,2 yrs, +/-11,9 for females. There were 12,3 pc and 22,3 pc obesity rates in the males and females respectively, with an equivalent mean BMI of 22,8 kg/m2 and 23,4 kg/m2 and WHR of 0,97 and 0,94. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) correlated with BMI, r = 0,26; p < 0,01 and r = 0,42; p < 0,001, only in females. WHR did not correlate with BP in either sex, but waist and hip measurements correlated significantly with BP in both sexes. The most important predictor of BP is BMI for females and waist measurement for men.