BMC Public Health (Apr 2023)

Different associations of occupational and leisure-time physical activity with the prevalence of hypertension among middle-aged community dwellers in rural Khánh Hòa, Vietnam

  • An Dang Do,
  • Thuy Thi Phuong Pham,
  • Chau Que Nguyen,
  • Dong Van Hoang,
  • Ami Fukunaga,
  • Shohei Yamamoto,
  • Rachana Manandhar Shrestha,
  • Danh Cong Phan,
  • Masahiko Hachiya,
  • Dong Van Huynh,
  • Huy Xuan Le,
  • Hung Thai Do,
  • Tetsuya Mizoue,
  • Yosuke Inoue

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-15631-w
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 23, no. 1
pp. 1 – 9

Abstract

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Abstract Background In contrast to high-income countries where physical activity (PA), particularly leisure-time PA, has been shown to be protective against hypertension, few studies have been conducted in low- and middle-income countries. We examined the cross-sectional association between PA and hypertension prevalence among rural residents in Vietnam. Methods We used data collected in the baseline survey of a prospective cohort study, among 3000 people aged 40–60 years old residing in rural Khánh Hòa, Vietnam. Hypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure ≥ 140 mmHg, diastolic blood pressure ≥ 90 mmHg, or the use of antihypertensive medication. We assessed occupational PA and leisure-time PA using the Global Physical Activity Questionnaire. A robust Poisson regression model was used to investigate the associations, with adjustment for covariates. Results The prevalence of hypertension was 39.6%. After adjusting for socio-demographic and lifestyle-related variables, leisure-time PA was positively associated with hypertension prevalence (prevalence ratio [PR]: 1.03 per 10 MET-hour/week, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01–1.06). Occupational PA was inversely associated with hypertension prevalence (PR: 0.98 per 50 MET-hour/week, 95% CI = 0.96–0.996). After adjusting for BMI and other health-related variables, the association related to occupational PA became statistically non-significant, while the association related to leisure-time PA remained statistically significant. Conclusion In contrast to previous studies in high-income countries, we found that leisure-time PA was positively associated with hypertension prevalence and occupational PA was associated with a lower hypertension prevalence. This suggests that the association between PA and hypertension might differ depending on the context.

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