Comparative Assessment of the Utility of Anthropometric and Bioelectrical Impedance Indices as Potential Predictors of Hypertension within a Ghanaian Adult Population: A Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is an important public health concern that is claiming millions of lives worldwide. In sub-Saharan African countries, where some of the highest prevalence rates are being recorded, sufficient attention has not been given to its control. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the association and predictive potential of different anthropometric and bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) measures for hypertension. METHODS: A total of 812 individuals (204 men and 608 women) were enrolled, and their blood pressure measurement was determined. Direct anthropometric measures (weight, height, waist circumference (WC), and hip circumference) and derived anthropometric measures (body mass index, conicity index, abdominal volume index (AVI), and body adiposity index) were determined. BIA indices investigated included visceral fat level (VF), percentage body fat (%BF), resting metabolic rate (RMR), and skeletal muscle mass. RESULTS: A prevalence of 31.28% was observed for hypertension in the total study population, with males having a slightly higher prevalence than females. Except for the skeletal muscle mass, all the other indices measured showed an increasing trend from normotension to prehypertension and hypertension. Age and visceral fat level showed the highest correlation with systolic blood pressure for both genders. Receiver operator characteristic analysis showed that age was the best predictor of hypertension in both genders, whereas, in predicting prehypertension, RMR was the best predictor in males, and WC was the best predictor in females. VF, WC, and AVI were other good predictors of hypertension in this study population. However, BMI and % BF had a low predictive value for hypertension. CONCLUSION: The result of this study shows that within this study population in addition to age, measures of central obesity rather than general obesity are the likely drivers of the hypertension epidemic; thus, measures aimed at controlling central obesity may offer some therapeutic and preventive advantage.