Blood Pressure and BMI Among Adult Migrants and Nonmigrants From Agincourt, South Africa

Stephen McGarvey , Brown University
Francesc Gomez-Olive, Harvard University
Mark Gross, Cabrini University
Carren Ginsburg, University of the Witwatersrand
Mark Collinson, University of the Witwatersrand
Stephen Tollman, University of the Witwatersrand
Michael J. White, Brown University

Blood pressure (BP) is higher in migrants compared to non-migrants from the same population due to selectivity and urban exposures. We report on baseline BP and BMI levels in 1,589 men and women 19-42 years of age; 1,270 non-migrants from Bushbuckridge, South Africa and 319 migrants residing in Gauteng Province. At the baseline of this longitudinal study BP and BMI were measured and structured questionnaires administered. Hypertension was based on mean elevated BP or use of antihypertensive medication. Overweight was based on BMI > 25 kg/m2. In Bushbuckridge hypertension prevalence was 11.1% and 17.0%, and in Gauteng 22.1% and 32.3%, in women and men, respectively. Only 7.5% and 5.6% of hypertensives were using medication in Bushbuckridge and Gauteng, respectively, with far fewer males using medications. Multivariable results adjusting for age and BMI show significantly higher hypertension odds in Gauteng in both men and women.

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 Presented in Session 11. Health & Mortality 2