article_snippet.sent: all causes of high blood pressure.
article_snippet.sent: A team at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School in Singapore found 27.4 per cent of the population suffered from pre-hypertension.
article_snippet.sent: Professor Tazeen Jafar, of Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore (Duke-NUS), designed and supervised a study to find behaviour associated with hypertension in a young adult population in South East Asia.
article_snippet.sent: Her team surveyed 501 university students, aged 18 to 40, in Singapore.
article_snippet.sent: Figures on blood pressure, body mass index (BMI) and lifestyle, including meals eaten away from home and physical activity levels, were collected.
article_snippet.sent: The association with hypertension was then determined.
article_snippet.sent: Using statistical analysis, Researchers in Singapore found that pre-hypertension was found in 27.4 per cent of the total population, and 38 per cent ate more than 12 meals away from home per week; while the gender breakdown showed that pre-hypertension was much more prevalent in men (49 per cent) than in women (nine per cent).
article_snippet.sent: The findings showed those who had pre-hypertension or hypertension were more likely to eat more meals away from home per week, have a higher mean BMI, have lower mean physical activity levels, and be current smokers.
article_snippet.sent: The novel finding of the study, published online by the American Journal of Hypertension, was the link that Dr. Jafar's team was able to show between pre-hypertension and hypertension with meals eaten away from home.
article_snippet.sent: Dr Jafar said: 'While there have been studies conducted in the United States and Japan to find behaviours associated with hypertension, very few have surveyed a South East Asian population. '
article_snippet.sent: Our research plugs that gap and highlights lifestyle factors associated with pre-hypertension and hypertension that are potentially modifiable, and would be applicable to young adults globally, especially those of Asian descent.'
article_snippet.sent: She said future studies should examine the effect of lifestyle modification programmes on blood pressure levels of at-risk people.
highlights_snippet.sent: Researchers found 27.4% of Singapore's population had pre-hypertension .
  