Overweight/Obesity as the Dominant Factors Associated with Hypertension in the Elderly in Indonesia

Background. Increasing age causes a physiological decline, and the occurrence of diseases cannot be avoided. One accompanying disease is hypertension, which is a risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, particularly for the elderly. Objectives. This study aimed to determine the dominant factors associated with hypertension in the elderly in Indonesia. Material and Methods. The research design was a cross-sectional study using secondary data from the Indonesia Family Life Survey wave 5 in 2014. Hypertension category was determined based on the Joint National Committee 8 Hypertension Guidelines for individuals aged 60 years or older. Data of 1255 elderly individuals were analyzed using univariate analysis, as well as bivariate analysis with chi-squared test and multivariate analysis with multiple logistic regression. Results. Results showed that the proportion of hypertension in the elderly was 55% (3% and 52% controlled and uncontrolled hypertension, respectively). Bivariate analysis results showed that body mass index, physical activity, current smoking, employment, and marital status were the factors related to hypertension (p<0.05). Multivariate analysis results showed that factors related to hypertension were body mass index (ORadj=2.4; 95% CI=1.812–3.186), employment (ORadj=1.6; 95%CI=1.248–2.047), marital status (ORadj=1.3; 95% CI=1.035–1.710) and current smoking (ORadj=0.7; 95% CI=0.599–0.998). Conclusions. The dominant factor related to hypertension was BMI after controlling for employment, marital status, and current smoking