Association of fat patterning, hypertension and ACE (I/D) gene polymorphism: a study on two Tibeto-Burman linguistic group of Tripura, North East India

Non-Communicable Disease(s) (NCDs) includes cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic lung diseases, and diabetes. Hypertension, overweight, physical inactivity, alcohol consumption are considered as the most important risk factors for NCDs (WHO, 2012). Most of the NCDs are multifactorial in nature. Both genes and environment are responsible for the prevalence of NCDs. Hypertension is often called “The silent killer” because it generally has no symptoms until serious complications develop.1 Hypertension is considered as a major cause of morbidity and mortality throughout the world and become a major global burden on public health in many developing countries.2 The prevalence of hypertension will be gradually increased up to 60% by 2025. In developed countries, the prevalence of hypertension ranges between 22% and 55%. In a recent report by World Health Statistics 2012 it was estimated that 63% of global death were occur due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The largest proportion of NCD deaths is caused by cardiovascular diseases (48%). The prevalence of hypertension for the European average was 44.2% compared with 27.6% in North America. In US the median prevalence of total hypertension in 2009 was 37.6% in men and 40.1% in women.3 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1999-2004) found that the prevalence of hypertension in the USA increased from approximately 27% to 29%. Similarly another survey by NHANES from 2004–2007 revealed a high prevalence of hypertension.4 The prevalence of hypertension varied among different studies in India, ranging from 2-15% in urban India and 2-8% in rural India. In developing countries, it is the seventh highest contributor to premature death. CVD was the largest cause of deaths in males (20.3%) as well as in females (16.9%) and it leads to 2 million deaths annually.5 In India there is a trend of gradual increase in the prevalence of hypertension in last six decade. The prevalence of hypertension was found around 16.9% among Gujarat labor population.6