Seventeen-Year Changes in Body Mass Index, Waist Circumference, Elevated Blood Pressure, and Diabetes Phenotypes in a Cohort of Filipino Women

Obesity, hypertension, and diabetes have risen dramatically in Asia, but few cohort studies track age and secular trends in these conditions. We use Cebu (The Philippines) Longitudinal Health and Nutrition survey data to document 1998 to 2015 prevalence and co-occurrence of body mass index (BMI; >25 kg/m²), high waist circumference (WC; >80 cm), elevated blood pressure (EBP; systolic ⩾130 or diastolic ⩾85 mm Hg), and type 2 diabetes among ~2000 women aged 29 to 62 years in 1998; and identify their relationship to community, household, and individual factors using longitudinal logistic regression. Prevalence (1998-2015) rates were 35% to 49%, BMI >25 kg/m²; 32% to 58% high WC; 21% to 59% EBP; and 2% to 14% diabetes. Only 20% of women had none of these conditions in 2015. Diabetes was strongly driven by age and secular trends in high WC related to higher socioeconomic status and urbanization. Hypertension increased with age in lower socioeconomic status rural and more affluent urban women. Results underscore the continuing need for public health measures to prevent obesity and to identify and treat hypertension and diabetes.