Tobacco consumption influencing the prevalence of hypertension among Indian women aged above 15 years: An in-depth analysis using National Family Health Survey (NFHS - 5), 2019–2021

Objectives: Globally, hypertension associated with tobacco consumption is one of the leading causes of death. The aim of this study is to explore the possible association between tobacco consumption and hypertension among women aged 15 years and above in India. Methods: Data available from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS 5) survey was used for the study. The study examined the relationship between tobacco consumption and hypertension by analysing blood pressure indices among women aged above 15 years in India. The weighted proportion was computed with 95% CI for the cross-tabulations. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine the risk factors for hypertension, high mean arterial pressure, and wide pulse pressure. Results: Among 625116 women aged 15 years and above, 41181 (6.6%) of them were tobacco consumers; among them, 3.4% had wide pulse pressure, 6% had hypertension, and 20.2% had high mean arterial pressure. Tobacco consumers were 1.11 times (1.03-1.20) and 1.09 (1.05-1.14) times more likely to have hypertension and high mean arterial pressure respectively, compared to those who didn't consume tobacco. Smokeless tobacco consumers were 1.12 (1.04-1.21) times more likely to develop hypertension. Conclusion: From this study, we found that factors like older age, mixed diet, alcohol use, and obesity have contributed to the risk of hypertension. Smokeless tobacco users were at risk of developing hypertension compared to users of other forms of tobacco.