Association Between Total Cholesterol Levels and Hypertension Among Medan Customs Office Employees

Abstract

Blood pressure elevation may coexist with disturbances in lipid metabolism. We investigated whether total-cholesterol categories were related to blood-pressure classifications in staff members at the Medan Customs and Excise Office. This analytic cross-sectional study randomly selected 51 employees from a workforce of 105. Total cholesterol was determined with an Autocheck meter, and blood pressure was recorded with a digital sphygmomanometer. Categorical data were summarized by frequency and proportion; the relationship between the two variables was evaluated using Pearson's chi-square test. Of the participants, 26 (51.0%) had desirable cholesterol, 19 (37.3%) had borderline-high values, and 6 (11.8%) had high values. Blood-pressure classification was normal for 12 employees (23.5%), prehypertensive for 16 (31.4%), stage I hypertensive for 18 (35.3%), and stage II hypertensive for 5 (9.8%). Four of the six employees in the high-cholesterol group had stage II hypertension. A significant relationship was found between total-cholesterol and blood-pressure categories (χ²(6)=39.583; p<0.001). These results support incorporating both measurements into periodic occupational health assessments