PREVALÊNCIA E FATORES ASSOCIADOS À HIPERTENSÃO ARTERIAL EM IDOSOS DE UM MUNICÍPIO DO INTERIOR DO NORDESTE BRASILEIRO

In Brazil, among Chronic Noncommunicable Diseases, Systemic Arterial Hypertension (SAH) stands out for its high number of diagnosed cases. For this purpose, the objective was to estimate the prevalence of SAH and associated factors in elderly people from the city of Caninde, State of Ceara. This is a population-based quantitative study with 372 elderly people. Characterization and International Physical Activity Questionnaires were applied, and then analyzed in SPSS 16.0 software. The prevalence of SAH was 46.2%. Among hypertensive patients, only 1.2% did not adhere to drug treatment. Statistically significantdifferences were observed between Hypertension and age group (p=0.004), retirement (p=0.000), consultation and hospitalization in the last year (p=0.000), level of physical activity (p=0.008), obesity (p=0.031), and diabetes (p=0.001). In the adjusted multivariate analysis, obese elderly people were 5.603 times more likely to be hypertensive, diabetic patients were 1.876 times, and inactive peoplewere 2.067 times. Those who had a frequency >4 times of consultations and hospitalizations in the last year were 2.854 more likely to have this diagnosis. Although there is no evidence of a causal relationship, the results obtained and the association between variables point to the need for the empowerment of thepopulation for good adherence to treatment, besides prevention initiatives, investments in health, and the dissemination of public policies.