Association Between Lifestyle Behaviors and Hypertension Among Hill Tribe Adults in Thailand: a Cross-Sectional Study

Background Hypertension (HT) is a serious problem in the adult population, particularly among individuals who are living in poor economic conditions and have a low education level. This study aimed to determine the associations between lifestyle and HT among adult hill tribe populations in Thailand. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted to gather information on several risk behaviors related to HT among the hill tribe population aged 30 years and older by using a validated questionnaire and 5 mL blood specimens. The study was conducted in 30 selected hill tribe villages in Chiang Rai Province, Northern Thailand. Logistic regression was used to detect the associations. Results A total of 2552 participants participated in the project; 65.9% were female, 72.4% were aged 40-69 years, and 54.2% were Buddhist. The overall prevalence of HT was 33.7%. After controlling for all potential confounding variables, two variables were found to be associated with HT: participants who used moderate (AOR=1.57; 95% CI=1.03-3.76) and high amounts (AOR=1.59; 95% CI=1.05-3.78) of oil for cooking had greater odds of having HT than those who used small amounts. Those who had low (AOR=1.45; 95% CI=1.13-1.88), moderate (AOR=2.68; 95% CI=1.80-8.78), and high (AOR=1.61; 95% CI=1.36-7.26) levels of depression had greater odds of having HT than those who were not depressed. Conclusions Effective public health programs that focus on reducing the use of daily oil for cooking and decreasing the prevalence of depression in hill tribe people are urgently needed.

Automated summary

This study found that the use of large amounts of cooking oil and depression were closely associated with hypertension among adult hill tribe populations in Thailand. Therefore, effective public health programs are needed to reduce the use of cooking oil and decrease the prevalence of depression in hill tribe people.