Hypertension
Arterial Hypertension among Elderly of Bridgetown, Barbados: Prevalence and Associated Factors
The research question of the current study was: ‘what risk factors are associated with the occurrence of arterial hypertension?”. The hypothesis for the study was that sedentary lifestyle and poor general were directly correlated with the prevalence of arterial hypertension. The research design was quantitative in nature. Cross-sectional household survey on a total sample of 1,508 participants was examined (Borbosa & Borgatto, 2010, p. 614) and the information collected mainly contained demographic figures and is also quantifiable.
There are several independent variables in this and include lifestyle, general health, and such socio-demographic characteristics as gender and race. The dependent variable in this study was the occurrence of hypertension among the participants (Borbosa & Borgatto, 2010, p. 615). Lifestyle was the independent variable adopted by the current study. Others include consumption of alcohol, smoking, and exercising.
An operational definition for general health has also been provided based on whether the patient had been previously been diagnosed with arthritis, heart attack, embolism and diabetes mellitus. Sociodemographic characteristics have also been provided and they include age bracket, sex, race, job, and marital status (Borbosa & Borgatto, 2010, p. 615). An operational definition of the dependent variable was if a physician or a nurse had ever told the patient they had high blood pressure or asked them whether they were taking hypertension medication.
A relationship between explanatory variables and the occurrence of the diseases was conducted for the whole sample. A wald test was done to measure the percentage of the association of the variables with hypertension (Borbosa & Borgatto, 2010, p. 616). There was high prevalence among women, those who reported having been diagnosed with the diseases under the general health variable and among smokers and alcohol users.
Extraneous variables included cultural factors, genetics, and salt intake. These could have caused the difference because they are often listed as risk factor for development of hypertension because of their impact on the independent variables. Among the African Americans, genetics or family history play a crucial role in determining occurrence of the disease. The authors conclusions were that variables including lifestyle and socio-demographic characteristics did not have significant relationship with occurrence based on the model of determination employed (Borbosa & Borgatto, 2010, p. 613). However, obesity showed significant positive correlation with hypertension prevalence.
Lipoprotein Levels Are Associated With Incident Hypertension in Older Adults
The research question of this paper was: “does the presence of serum lipoprotein indicate higher possibility of developing hypertension?” The hypothesis for the study was that elevated levels of serum lipoprotein are not a predictor of developing hypertension (Wildman et al, 2004, p. 916). This was a quantitative study considering that it was a prospective cohort study aimed at collecting and analyzing the information. The independent variable in this study was the serum lipoproteins while the dependent variables included the baseline blood pressure and heart rate. The research offers conceptual definition of independent variable.
BMI was given as dividing the weight (Kgs) of the participants by the height (meters) of the participants. The paper does not indicate a conceptual definition of the dependent variable (Wildman et al, 2004, p. 917). The article indicates an operational definition of the serum lipoproteins as independent variable constituting HDL-C, LDL-C and apoliproteins (Wildman et al, 2004, p. 917). The paper indicated an operational definition of dependent variable as the blood pressure and heart rate measured by trained investigators. The measures were done after 30 minutes after rest on a single day.
Three additional extraneous variables that the researcher could have examined as factors affecting the outcome include race, genetics and hormonal activities of insulin. Race and genetics have been associated with being a risk factor in occurrence of hypertension considering that research has found that the prevalence is very high among the African Americans. On the other hand, insulin has another mechanism of causing hypertension. Insulin resistance can cause vasoconstriction leading to high blood pressure (Wildman et al, 2004, p. 919). Insulin can as be accompanied by salt sensitivity hence causing more sodium reabsorption and therefore stimulating adrenaline hence causing hypertension.
The conclusion drawn by the researchers was that the study helped to answer the questions and the hypothesis of the study (Wildman et al, 2004, p. 916). The inferences drawn revealed that older adults who presented abnormal serums lipoproteins were positively correlated with the occurrence of high blood pressure.
Reference List
Borbosa, A.R., & Borgatto, A. F. (2010). Arterial Hypertension in the Elderly of Bridgetown, Barbados: Prevalence and Associated Factors. J Aging Health, 22(5), 611-630.
Wildman, R.P. et al. (2004). Lipoprotein Levels Are Associated With Incident Hypertension In Older Adults. J Am Geriatr Soc, 52(6), 916-921.