AUTHOR=Chhabra Pragti , Behera Shyambhavee , Sharma Rahul , Malhotra Rajeev Kumar , Mehta Kedar , Upadhyay Kritika , Goel Sonu 

TITLE=Gender-specific factors associated with hypertension among women of childbearing age: Findings from a nationwide survey in India

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine

VOLUME=Volume 9 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cardiovascular-medicine/articles/10.3389/fcvm.2022.999567

DOI=10.3389/fcvm.2022.999567

ISSN=2297-055X

ABSTRACT=Background
Hypertension is perceived as a disease of men or disease of high-income countries. In addition to established conventional risk factors, other putative factors specific to women in the development of hypertension have been reported. The study aims to address the burden and association of these gender-specific factors and hypertension among women of child-bearing age in India.
Methods
The study was conducted using secondary data from the National Family Health Survey-4 (NFHS-4). It included a nationally representative sample of 699,686 women of reproductive age. They were interviewed using a questionnaire and blood pressure was recorded. Complex sample analysis was done in this study, to compute unadjusted and adjusted odds ratio (OR) to account for the stratified cluster-sampling design. 
Results
The prevalence of hypertension was 11.8% among the women. Among the conventional factors, older age, higher Body Mass Index (BMI), tobacco use, and alcohol use had higher odds for hypertension while higher education, higher socio-economic position, and living in urban areas had lower odds. Among the gender-specific factors, younger age at first childbirth, early menarche, oral contraceptive pill use (Adjusted OR:1.23;p<0.001), and hysterectomy (Adjusted OR:1.10;p<0.001) were found to be risk factors for hypertension. Domestic violence was significantly associated with hypertension (Unadjusted OR:1.11;p=0.008). Empowered women had lower odds of hypertension (Adjusted OR:0.93;p=0.01). 
Conclusion
The current study highlights the association of some gender-specific factors and hypertension among women, and thus the need for incorporating these factors while screening for hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases among women.