Self-rated hypertension and anthropometric indicators of body fat in elderly *

ObjectiveTo investigate the association between self-rated hypertension (sf-H) and anthropometric indicators of body and abdominal fat in elderly from the city of São Paulo.MethodsData from 1894 elderly was obtained from the Survey on Aging, Health and Well-being (SABE). The anthropometric indicators used were: body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist/hip ratio (WHR), and waist/height ratio (WHtR). Binary logistic regression analysis stratified by gender was used.ResultsHypertension was associated with anthropometric indicators. At the final model (adjusted for age, education, smoking status, physical activity, and diabetes) in both genders, BMI showed greater statistical power, although it has been similar to other indicators in females. Except for WHeR in males, sf-H was positively and independently associated with the other indicators.ConclusionResults suggest the relevance of these indicators for early detection of the risk to develop hypertension and intervention in its prevention and management.