Hypertension and Lifestyle in Sinop, a Municipality in the Legal Amazon Region

Background: Hypertension is highly prevalent and is an important cardiovascular risk factor. Objective: To estimate the prevalence of hypertension and its association with lifestyle. Methods: This was a cross-sectional population-based study conducted through a household survey in Sinop-MT (n = 690). The study sample was obtained by simple sampling in two steps. Blood pressure was measured three times and, for the analysis, the average of the last two measures was taken into account. The individuals who had BP >= 140/90 mmHg and/or reported use of antihypertensive drugs were considered hypertense. Me analysis of hierarchical multiple logistic regression was used to test the association between hypertension and independent variables. Results: The prevalence of hypertension was 23.2% (95% CI: 20.1 - 26.6). The only variable related to lifestyle associated with hypertension was the consumption of alcoholic beverages, and this variable was protective for women who consumed up to 15g ethanol/day (OR = 0.49, 95% CI: 0.26-0.93), and deleterious for men who consumed more than 30g ethanol/day (OR = 2.94, 95% CI: 1.28 to 6.77). Conclusion: Hypertension was independently associated with alcohol consumption among men and women. (Arq Bras Cardiol 2010;94(5):601-606)