Factors associated with arterial hypertension: a systematic review

Abstract A systematic review of demographic, socioeconomic, behavioral and anthropometric factors associated with hypertension. We included observational studies, of populations aged 18 or older, from the past ten years, published in English, Portuguese or Spanish from Pubmed, Web of Science, Scopus and Lilacs bases. The most found factors related to the greater chance of having hypertension were age and the Body Mass Index (BMI). Other factors associated with the disease were: gender (male), education (lower education), income (lower income) and waist circumference (high). Never having smoked, never having consumed alcohol and white skin color were characteristics related to a lower chance of having hypertension. As demonstrated, demographic, socioeconomic, behavioral and anthropometric characteristics are important factors associated with a greater chance of having hypertension in the adult population. However, while most of the factors associated with it are amenable to intervention, broader health promotion policies will be needed to reduce socioeconomic inequalities in the prevalence of the disease.