Introduction:

Alcohol consumption impacts men and women differently due to the biological characteristics of both sexes. The evaluation of the influence of consuming and not consuming alcohol on blood pressure could differ in both sexes, making it necessary to know this profile in Peru, a country with one of the highest rates of alcohol consumption on the continent.

Objective:

To analyze the relationship between blood pressure and being or not a consumer of alcoholic beverages in adults of the Peruvian population.

Methodology:

Observational, analytical, retrospective, and cross-sectional study based on data from the Peruvian national and family health survey. The variables were: sex, systolic, diastolic, mean arterial pressure (MAP), educational level, alcohol consumption, body mass index, and abdominal circumference. The Chi-square test, prevalence ratio, crude Odds Ratio, and adjusted Odds Ratio using binary logistic regression were performed.

Results:

Alcohol consumption was high in men (94.90%) and women (88.20%). The average blood pressure in men and women who consume alcoholic beverages was higher compared to those who had never drunk and was higher in men. Women who consume alcoholic beverages had a 1.11 times higher prevalence of elevated MAP than non-consumers. Male alcoholic beverage consumers had a 1.66 times higher prevalence of elevated MAP than non-consumers. In the multivariate analysis, there was no association between alcohol consumption and elevated MAP in women. In men, alcohol drinkers were 1.74 times more likely to have hypertension than men who had never drunk alcoholic beverages

Conclusions:

The consumption of alcoholic beverages increases the prevalence of hypertension in adults of the Peruvian population, being a predictive factor of hypertension in men.

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