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The growing risk of hypertension in India’s Scheduled tribes

Hypertension Research volume 48, pages 1819–1820 (2025)Cite this article

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Hypertension is a major risk factor for many serious health problems and a sensitive health indicator of longevity and socioeconomic development. It is linked to sustained elevated blood pressure (BP) due to smoking habits and alcohol intake, sedentary behaviour, and unhealthy diet. This elevated blood pressure (140/90 mmHg or higher) indicates that the heart and blood vessels are overworked [1]. Worldwide, hypertension is a major cause of premature death, and an estimated 1·28 billion adults aged 30–79 years suffer, most (two-thirds) live in low and middle-income countries, and the target for this non-communicable disease (NCD) is reduce its prevalence by 33% up to 2030 [1]. India is home to the world’s second-largest tribal population, comprising 705 Scheduled Tribes with 104 million people constituting 8·6% of the total population (2011 census) [2]. These Scheduled tribes mainly reside in rural, dense forested hilly areas with low literacy rates, poverty and limited access to public health services, which has led to these groups being marginalized, socially vulnerable, and having poor health.

The burden of hypertension among the scheduled tribes is escalating with the issue of multiple chronic conditions, undiagnosed owing to scares of awareness and inadequate health care access. Besides, the economic burden of hypertension is notably high both in terms of out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) and catastrophic health expenditure (CHE). The scenario of hypertension in the tribal population; a recent study reported a prevalence of hypertension of 48%, with a use of tobacco prevalence (28%) and alcohol consumption (19%) [3]. In 2023, Babu, B.V. et al. reported that the prevalence of hypertension is 34·0% and 28·3% among men and women, respectively, with total hypertension (27·5%) [4]. While, in 2021 Ganie MA. et al. reported a higher prevalence of hypertension in males (46·7%) and females (37·9%) [5]. Thus, hypertension is a serious concern, the present evaluation highlights the growing risk of hypertension among the tribal population and needs urgent attention.

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References

  1. World Health Organization. Hypertension. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2024. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hypertension.

  2. Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India. Statistical profile of Scheduled Tribes of India 2013. New Delhi: Government of India; 2013. https://tribal.nic.in/StatisticalProfileSTs2013.pdf.

  3. Aswin M, Anand MP, Jessy P, Lordson AJ, Jibin JP, Nisam A, et al. Prevalence and associated risk factors of hypertension among tribal population in Thrissur District: a cross-sectional study in South India. Clin Epidemiol Glob Health. 2024;26:101563. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cegh.2024.101563.

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  4. Babu BV, Hazarika CR, Raina SK, Masoodi SR, Basappa YC, Thomas N, et al. Hypertension prevalence, awareness, treatment, control and risk factors in tribal population of India: a multi-centric cross-sectional study. J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2024;11:3678–89. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-023-01817-w.

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  5. Ganie MA, Parvez T, Viswanath SA, Sreenivas V, Ramakrishnan L, Nisar S, et al. Prevalence, pattern & correlates of hypertension among tribal population of Kashmir, India: a cross-sectional study. Indian J Med Res. 2021;154:467–75. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijmr.IJMR_48_19.

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  1. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Institute of Research in Tribal Health (NIRTH), Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, 482003, India

    Dinesh Kumar & Taranand Singh

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  1. Dinesh Kumar
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  2. Taranand Singh
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Correspondence to Dinesh Kumar.

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Kumar, D., Singh, T. The growing risk of hypertension in India’s Scheduled tribes. Hypertens Res 48, 1819–1820 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41440-025-02178-z

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