The Association between Body Weight and Hypertension according to Smoking Status in Male Workers

Lee, Ka Young; Cho, Byung Mann

Abstract

BACKGROUND
The risk of hypertension increases as body weight is gained. In most studies, smoking has been considered as a confounder in association, but such association had not been analyzed accordingly to smoking status. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to assess whether the relation between weight and the risk of hypertension varied according to smoking status. METHODS: The subjects were 1,813 male workers who had routine health examination from April to June in 1998. They were divided into current smokers and non smokers according to smoking status and categorized into three different weight groups; normal weight (BMI<23 kg/m2), overweight (23or=25 kg/m2). Hypertension was defined if systolic blood pressure was >140 mmHg, or diastolic blood pressure was >or=90 mmHg. The interaction between smoking status and BMI for prevalence of hypertension, and the prevalence odds ratios for hypertension among six groups categorized according to weight and smoking status, were analyzed by multiple logistic regression. RESULTS: The interaction between smoking status and BMI was significant (beta= 0.058, SE=0.025, P=0.021). The risk of hypertension was 1.55 times (95% C.I 0.76-3.15) higher among the non-smokers with overweight and 2.09 times (95% C.I 1.01-4.32) higher among the non-smokers with obesity compared to the non-smokers with normal weight after controlling for age, serum glucose, and total cholesterol. In contrast, weight was not associated with the risk of hypertension among smokers. CONCLUSION: The risk of hypertension rose as the weight of non-smokers increased. However, there was no association between the weight and the risk of hypertension among current smokers.