Background: Hypertension is a major public health problem due to its high prevalence all around the globe. It is well established that hypertension and obesity are nearly related, and a higher commonness of hypertension happens in the fat contrasted with their non-stout partner. The main objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of hypertension and its relation to body mass index (BMI) among Saudi Nationals in Saudi Arabia and to examine the association between hypertension and other chronic diseases in the studied population.
Methodology: A cross-sectional study carried out on Saudi Nationals, Saudi Arabia during the period from 1 March to 30 June 2018, the samples included of both sex aged between 6 - 65 years. Data collected using a pre-designed online questionnaire that was distributed online, on social media among participants. Data analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) program (version 22), the chi-square test was used, the p-value considered significant if less than 0.05.
Results: The majority (63.5%) of the studied population aged between 21-40 years, 75.9% were females, the total prevalence of hypertension among the studied population was 8.9%. DM was found in 31.6% of hypertension cases, Hyperlipidemia in 69.5%, Atherosclerosis in 4.2%, and cerebrovascular stroke in 4.2%. Most (78.9%) of cases were on medical treatment of hypertension, but 62.1% only follow the physician instructions. Only 51.6% of cases used one drug, 21.1% used two drugs, 6.4% used three drugs and dietary and herbal treatment was found in 15.7% of cases. Most (83.2%) of hypertension cases were females, 77.9%% aged 21-40 years, 25.3% had overweight, 41.1% obese and 28.4% had morbid obesity.
Conclusion: In the Saudi population, the total prevalence of hypertension among the studied population was 8.9%. Female sex, increased age, diabetes mellitus (DM), overweight, obesity, and morbid obesity were significantly associated with hypertension.
Key words: Hypertension, associated morbidity, diabetes mellitus, overweight, obesity, morbid obesity.
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