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ObjectiveTo assess the socioeconomic and behavioural risk factors associated with hypertension among a sample male and female population in India.SettingCross-sectional survey data from a Health and Demographic Surveillance System (HDSS) of rural West Bengal, India was used.Participants27 589 adult individuals (13 994 males and 13 595 females), aged ≥18 years, were included in the study.Primary and secondary outcome measuresHypertension was defined as mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≥140 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥90 mm Hg, or if the subject was undergoing regular antihypertensive therapy. Prehypertension was defined as SBP 120–139 mm Hg and DBP 80–89 mm Hg. Individuals were categorised as non-normotensives, which includes both the prehypertensives and hypertensives. Generalised ordered logit model (GOLM) was deployed to fulfil the study objective.ResultsOver 39% of the men and 25% of the women were prehypertensives. Almost 12.5% of the men and 11.3% of the women were diagnosed as hypertensives. Women were less likely to be non-normotensive compared to males. Odds ratios estimated from GOLM indicate that women were less likely to be hypertensive or prehypertensive, and age (OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.05; and OR 1.08, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.09 for males and females, respectively) and body mass index (OR 1.64, 95% CI 1.38 to 1.97 for males; and OR 1.32, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.60 for females) are associated with hypertension.ConclusionsAn elevated level of hypertension exists among a select group of the rural Indian population. Focusing on men, an intervention could be designed for lifestyle modification to curb the prevalence of hypertension.

The Birbhum HDSS was established in 2008 and covers 351 villages in four administrative blocks in rural areas of Birbhum district of West Bengal, India. The project currently follows 54 585 individuals living in 12557 households. The population being followed up is economically underprivileged and socially marginalized. The HDSS, a prospective longitudinal cohort study, has been designed to study changes in population demographic, health and healthcare utilization. In addition to collecting data on vital statistics and antenatal and postnatal tracking, verbal autopsies are being performed. Moreover, periodic surveys capturing socio-demographic and economic conditions have been conducted twice. Data on nutritional status (children as well as adults), non-communicable diseases, smoking etc. have also been collected in special surveys. Currently, intervention studies on anaemia, undernutrition and common preschool childhood morbidities through behavioural changes are under way. For access to the data, a researcher needs to send a request to the Data Manager [suri.shds@gmail.com]. Data are shared in common formats like comma-separated files (csv) or Microsoft Excel (xlsx) or Microsoft Access Database (mdb).The HDSS will soon upgrade its data management system to a more integrated platform, coordinated and guided by INDEPTH data sharing policy.

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This study has benefited immeasurably from the input of many. The study was supported by a grant from the Department for International Development, UK, to the Population Council, and we are grateful for their support over the course of the project. We are grateful to the young women and men of Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh and Dhar and Guna districts, Madhya Pradesh who generously gave us their time and shared their views and experiences. We would like to thank the various government departments in Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh for granting permission to conduct this study. We appreciate the efforts of the investigators who painstakingly collected the data, and the invaluable insights provided by the participants of the data interpretation workshops, including the District Collector and local government representatives. A special thanks goes to colleagues at the Family Planning Association of India, Bhopal and Hyderabad for providing support during data collection, and the staff of SEEDS, Guntur for their support during the data interpretation workshop. We would like to thank Saroj Pachauri for her support throughout the study. Rajib Acharya provided valuable guidance in designing the study. John Cleland and Venkatesh Srinivasan reviewed an earlier draft of the report and provided thoughtful comments. We are grateful to Deepika Ganju for her editorial contribution and careful attention to detail. We would also like to thank Komal Saxena and M.A. Jose for their valuable assistance during the project.

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The present study investigates the socioeconomic risk factors of anaemia among women belonging to eastern Indian states. An attempt has been made to find out differences in anaemia related to social class and place of residence, and age and marital status. It was hypothesized that rural women would have a higher prevalence of anaemia compared with their urban counterparts, particularly among the poorest social strata, and that ever-married women would be at elevated risk of anaemia compared with never-married women, particularly in the adolescent age group. Using data from National Family Health Survey-3, 2005-6, a nationally representative cross-sectional survey that provided information on anaemia level among 19,695 women of this region, the present study found that the prevalence of anaemia was high among all women cutting across social class, location and other attributes. In all 47.9% were mildly anaemic (10.0-11.9.9 g/dl), 16.1% were moderately anaemic (7.0-9.9 g/dl) and 1.6% were severely anaemic (<7.0 g/dl). Protective factors include frequent consumption of pulses, milk and milk products, fruits and fish, educational attainment, mass media exposure and high socioeconomic status. Urban poor women and adolescent ever-married women had very high odds of being anaemic. New programme strategies are needed, particularly those that improve iron storage and enhance the overall nutritional status of women throughout the life-cycle.

Abstract The aim of the present study was to estimate the prevalence and examine the determinants of consanguineous marriage types in India. Data for 456,646 ever-married women aged 15–49 years were analysed from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-4 conducted in 2015–16. The overall prevalence of consanguineous marriage was 9.9%; the South region (23%) and North-East region (3.1%) showed the highest and lowest prevalences, respectively. Muslims had a higher prevalence (15%) than Hindus (9%). The prevalence of first cousin marriage (8.7%) was more than that of second cousin (0.7%) and of uncle–niece marriages (0.6%). Women living in urban areas and in nuclear families, having a higher level of education and belonging to affluent families were less likely to marry their cousins (p < 0.01). Women living in the South region of the country were more likely to marry their cousins, as well as uncles (p < 0.001). Close scrutiny of the trends in the results (odds ratios) revealed no clear relationship between socioeconomic condition and consanguineous marriage. The study results suggest that religion and north–south regional dichotomy in culture largely determine consanguineous marriage rather than socioeconomic condition in India.