Association between relative fat mass and the risk of hypertension in Peruvian adults: A longitudinal analytical study

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21142/mecp.2026.1.1.e002

Keywords:

Body Composition, Obesity, Waist Circumference, Body Mass Index, Adipose Tissue, Hypertension, Cardiometabolic Risk Factors, Cohort Studies, Transients and Migrants, Peru

Abstract

Objectives: To estimate the incidence rate of hypertension and assess the association between relative fat mass (RFM) index and five-year hypertension incidence in a Peruvian adult cohort. Methods: A longitudinal analytical study was conducted using secondary data from the PERU MIGRANT study (n = 731 adults at baseline, n = 647 adults with information on hypertension status at 5 years). RFM was calculated from height and waist circumference, with obesity defined as ≥30% for men and ≥40% for women. The outcome was 5-year incident hypertension (systolic blood pressure ≥140 mmHg, diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mmHg, or antihypertensive use). Incidence rates per 100 person-years and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated using individual follow-up time. Relative risks (RR) with 95% CI were estimated using Poisson regression with robust variance for the binary outcome assessed at five-year follow-up, adjusted for sociodemographic and lifestyle covariates. A sensitivity analysis using propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to estimate the ATET (average treatment effect on the treated). Results: Of the participants, 50.6% were women, with a mean age of 45.6 years (standard deviation [SD]: 10.6). RFM-defined obesity prevalence was 36.4%. The incidence of hypertension was higher in participants with RFM-defined obesity (1.87 per 100 person-years) than in those without (1.01 per 100 person-years). In the fully adjusted model, obesity was associated with a 2.43-fold higher risk of hypertension (RR: 2.43; 95% CI: 1.32-4.50; p = 0.004). The use of PSM further reinforced the robustness of our findings (ATET: 6.6%, 95% CI: 2.7-10.4%; p = 0.001). Conclusion: RFM-defined obesity was statistically significantly associated with a higher risk of developing hypertension over five years in this Peruvian cohort. The RFM index is a practical tool that could be useful for identifying individuals at increased cardiometabolic risk in clinical and public health settings.

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Published

2025-12-24

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Original article

How to Cite

1.
Guerra Valencia J, Hernández-Vásquez A, Christopher Barengo N. Association between relative fat mass and the risk of hypertension in Peruvian adults: A longitudinal analytical study. Med Educ Clin Pract [Internet]. 2025 Dec. 24 [cited 2026 Jan. 9];1(1):e002. Available from: https://revistas.cientifica.edu.pe/index.php/mecp/article/view/2842