Prevalence of hypertension and obesity among women over age 25 in a low income area in Karachi, Pakistan.

The prevalence of hypertension and overweight/obesity was studied among 151 women over age 25 in an underprivileged area in Karachi. Two blood pressure measurements were recorded and elevated readings were repeated after 2 days. Body Mass Index (BMI) was used to define overweight and obese. Waist hip ratio (WHR) was calculated to distinguish between the upper and lower body type obesity. The prevalence of hypertension was 17 percent (25 women), including 15 out of 21 subjects on anti-hypertensive medication who were still hypertensive. Forty-two percent were overweight and 8 percent were obese. Most of these overweight/obese women had an upper body type obesity, which is associated with increased cardiovascular risk. Possible suggested interventions include diet education and weight monitoring by the community health workers (CHWs) using an individualized weight card. These interventions can be added on to the already established primary health care (PHC) system addressing mother and child health (MCH) problems.