Hypertension and kidney function in an adult population of West Bengal, India: Role of body weight, waist circumference, proteinuria and rural area living

Aim: Hypertension (HTN) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) are important emerging problems in low-income countries, with an increasing number of patients dying from their consequences. Methods: A project for investigating these issues was carried out in West Bengal, India, in 2536 adult subjects. Body mass index (BMI) was classified using traditional and new cut-offs identified by the World Health Organization for Asian populations. HTN was classified according to the Joint National Committee 7 and CKD according to presence of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of less than 60 mL/min per 1.73 m2. Results: Normal BMI (Asian reference) was found in 41.5% of subjects, while 33.4% were underweight, 19.3% overweight and 5.8% obese. Prevalence of stage 1 and 2 HTN was 39.4%. Proteinuria (urine dipstick >1+) was present in 7.7% of the sample. In a subsample of 1526 subjects, eGFR of less than 60 mL/min per 1.73 m2 was found in 4.2%. At multivariate analysis, factors associated with HTN were weight classes (P < 0.001), presence of proteinuria (P < 0.001) and family history of HTN (P = 0.028), while living in rural areas was associated with lower risk for HTN (P = 0.003). eGFR was inversely related to BMI (P = 0.03), the presence of proteinuria (P < 0.001) and HTN (P < 0.003), and directly related to living in rural areas (P = 0.003). Conclusion: High prevalence of HTN was found in subjects with very limited access to health care in West Bengal. HTN was more common in overweight individuals, but also affected normal weight and underweight subjects in a significant part of the tested population. Preventive medicine should be a strong priority in this setting.