Abstract

Hypertension is one of the major non-communicable disease posing a public health challenge. Prehypertension among younger age is a major risk factor for developing hypertension in later life. Hence, tracking of blood pressure helps to identify individuals at risk of developing hypertension. Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of pre-hypertension among medical college students and to determine the factors associated with it. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among under graduate students in a medical college, Kanchipuram district. The study participants were the students of 2nd, 3rd and 4th year Medical undergraduates. The sample size calculated was 207 and study subjects were selected by simple random sampling technique. A semi- structured questionnaire was administrated for collecting data. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. Chi-square test was used for statistical analysis. Ethical clearance was obtained from institutional ethical committee. Informed consent was taken prior to the start of the study. Results: The prevalence of pre-hypertension was 46.86%. Prevalence of pre-hypertension was found higher among males (53.9%) compared to females (46.1%). The prevalence of prehypertension is higher among people with obesity (57.8%) and overweight (27.5%) compared to people with normal weight. Conclusions: Higher prevalence of pre-hypertension was seen in non-modifiable factors like male gender and modifiable factors like body mass index. Hence a healthy lifestyle must be adopted to combat these risk factors to avoid developing hypertension in future.

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