Hipertensión arterial y obesidad en indígenas asháninkas de la región Junín, Perú

Candice Romero; Carol Zavaleta; Lilia Cabrera; Robert H. Gilman; J. Jaime Miranda

doi:10.17843/rpmesp.2014.311.11

Authors

Candice Romero Área de Investigación y Desarrollo, A. B. PRISMA, Lima, Perú. Médico cirujano.
Carol Zavaleta Unidad Salud Indígena-Fundación Cayetano Heredia. Lima, Perú. Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia. Lima, Perú.6 Departamento de Geografía, Universidad McGill. Montreal, Canadá. Médico cirujano.
Lilia Cabrera Área de Investigación y Desarrollo, A. B. PRISMA, Lima, Perú. enfermera, especialista en Salud Pública.
Robert H. Gilman Área de Investigación y Desarrollo, A. B. PRISMA, Lima, Perú. CRONICAS Centro de Excelencia en Enfermedades Crónicas, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia. Lima, Perú. Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Baltimore, EE. UU. médico, especialista en enfermedades infecciosas.
J. Jaime Miranda CRONICAS Centro de Excelencia en Enfermedades Crónicas, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia. Lima, Perú. Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia. Lima, Perú. médico, magíster y doctor en Epidemiología.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17843/rpmesp.2014.311.11

Keywords:

Hypertension, Indigenous population, Health transition, Nutritional transition, Obesity, Chronic disease

Abstract

In order to determine the prevalence of high blood pressure and obesity in indigenous Ashaninkas, with limited contact with Western culture, a cross-sectional study was conducted in 2008 in five Ashaninka communities of the Junin region in the jungle of Peru. Individuals aged 35 or older were included. 76 subjects were evaluated (average age 47.4 years old, 52.6 % women) corresponding to 43.2% of the eligible population. The prevalence of hypertension was 14.5% (CI 95%: 6.4-22.6) and the prevalence of obesity, according to body mass index, was 4% (CI 95%: 0-8.4). No differences were observed in gender or in blood pressure levels by age group. Compared with previous studies in non-indigenous people of the Peruvian jungle, the prevalence of high blood pressure was higher while the prevalence of obesity was lower. Our findings are a call to be aware of the situation of chronic non-communicable diseases in indigenous populations in the Peruvian Amazon.