OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH HYPERTENSION IN COLOMBIA: PURE COHORT

Objective: To assess the association between overweight and obesity with blood pressure levels and incident hypertension in a prospective cohort with 12 years of follow-up. Design and method: Individuals aged 35 to 70 years from the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology Colombia cohort study were included. Participants with a history of hypertension and diabetes at baseline were excluded. Overweight and obesity was defined as a body mass index (BMI) greater or equal to 25 kg/m2. Blood pressure (BP) was measured at baseline and every 3-year follow-up. Hypertension was defined as a self-reported history of hypertension, baseline systolic BP greater or equal to 140 mmHg, diastolic BP greater or equal to 90 mmHg, or use of BP-lowering medications. Overweight and obese participants were propensity score matched using a 1:1 ratio with non-overweight participants. We used conditional logistic regression to evaluate the association between overweight, obesity, and hypertension, calculating the odds ratio and a 95% CI. Systolic BP and diastolic BP were analyzed in a linear mixed model as response variables, with matching pairs as random effects. The regression models were adjusted by sex, age, physical activity, tobacco use, alcohol use, education, waist-hip ratio, the alternative healthy eating index score, grip strength adjusted by weight, triglyceride-glucose index, and systolic BP at baseline. We established a p-value of <0.05 as significant. Results: Of 7500 participants, 1146 were matched, obtaining 573 pairs. The mean BMI was 25.2 kg/m2 (SD 4.02). The frequency of women was higher in the overweight group (68.1% vs. 60.9). The baseline SBP in overweight participants was 116.92 (SD 12.62) and 118.30 (SD 11.74) in non-overweight. 37.2% of overweight participants developed hypertension, but only 29.7% in non-overweight at follow-up. There was a 32% higher risk of hypertension in overweight participants (OR 1.32 95% CI:1.08-1.61). Being overweight and obese was associated with a higher increase in SBP of 2.53 mmHg (CI: 0.74-4.31) and DBP levels of 2.80 mmHg (CI: 1.68-3.93) at follow-up. Conclusions: Overweight and obesity, independently of other risk factors were associated with increased hypertension incidence and with higher SBP and DBP levels at 12 years of follow-up.