DATA DICTIONARY

NO

LABEL

DEFINITION

OPERATIONAL
DEFINITION

1.

Hypertension

Hypertension is defined
as a systolic blood
pressure equal to or
above 140 mmHg
and/or diastolic blood
pressure equal to or
above 90 mm Hg

The data collected were

categorized into

(World Health
Organization (WHO),
2013)

SCALE OF
MEASUREM
ENT
Categorical

1.Hypertension
Hypertension was considered
to be present if:
(1) the average systolic BP
140 mmHg and/or average
diastolic BP90 mmHg;
(2) or the participants
reported a history of
hypertension;
(3) or participants reported
taking anti-hypertensive
medications in the past two
weeks
(Malaysia Guideline on the
Management of
Hypertension, 3rd Edition,
2008)
2. Normal

2.

Blood
pressure

Blood pressure is
created by the force of
blood pushing against
the walls of blood
vessels (arteries) as it is
pumped by the heart.
(WHO, 2015)

Blood pressure is measured

in millimetres of mercury
(mm Hg). Normal adult
blood pressure is defined as a
systolic blood pressure of
120 mm Hg and a diastolic
blood pressure of 80 mm Hg.
There are electronic, mercury
and aneroid devices that are
used to measure blood
pressure.

Numerical

3.

Stress

(WHO, 2013)
A state of psychological Based on DASS-21 scoring
or physiological strain
caused by adverse
Normal: 0-14
stimuli, physical,
Mild: 15-18
mental or
Moderate:19-25
emotional,internal or
Severe: 26-33
external, that tends to
Extremely severe: 33++
disturb the functioning
of an organism and
which the organism
naturally desired to
avoid.

Categorical

(Dorlands Medical
Dictionary.)
4.

Depression

A mental state of
altered mood
characterized by feeling
of sadness, despair and
discouragement.
(Dorlands Medical
Dictionary, 2010)

Based on DASS-21 scoring

Categorical

Normal: 0-9
Mild: 10-13
Moderate: 14-20
Severe: 21-27
Extremely severe: 28++

An illness that involves

the body, mood, and
thoughts. It interferes
with daily life, normal
functioning, and causes
pain for both the person
with the disorder and
those who care about
him or her
(Medscape Womens
Health Depression,
2015)
5.

Anxiety

An uncomfortable
feeling of nervousness

Based on DASS-21 scoring

Categorical

or worry about
something that is
happening or might
happen in the future

Normal: 0-7
Mild: 8-9
Moderate: 10-14
Severe: 15-19
Extremely severe: 20++

(Cambridge Dictionary)
6.

Educational
level

The highest standard or

quality of education.
(Oxford University
Press,2015)

The data collected were

categorized into
1)No formal education
(had never been to school to
get any form of education)

Categorical

2)Completed primary school

education
(those with at least 7 years of
schooling at primary school)
3)Completed secondary
school
(those with at least 5 years of
schooling at secondary
school)
4)Completed tertiary school
(those who attended colleges
or universities)
(Article on
Prevalence,awareness,treatm
ent,control and
sociodemographic
determinants of hypertension
in Malaysia,2016)
7.

Household
income

Money received,
especially on a regular
basis, for work or
through investments
(Oxford University
Press, 2016)

The total gross salary of

which includes the basic
salary plus others without
any deduction such as taxes,
bank loan and others.

Numerical

8.

Gender

Sex differences
in Based on the persons
biology arise from gender: Male or Female
differences
in
sex
chromosome
dosage
(2X vs. 1X or 0Y vs.
1Y).
It
is
the
transcription factor Sry
located on the Y
chromosome
that
causes differentiation of
testes and leading to a
rise in the levels of
testosterone (T) in
utero. Since ones sex is
defined phenotypically
(i.e., whether one is
born with testes or
ovaries), a functioning
Sry leads to the birth of
a male while in its
absence (e.g., an XX or
XO individual), ovaries
develop and a female is
born.

Categorical

(Sandberg and Ji;

licensee BioMed
Central Ltd. 2012)
9.
Physical
activity

Physical activity is
defined as any bodily
movement produced by
skeletal muscles that
requires energy
expenditure.

Classify the respondents

physical activity by
continuous score using
International Physical
Activity Questionnaire
(IPAQ).

(World Health
Organization (WHO),
2015)

Express as MET-mean per

week. MET x minutes of
activity / day x days per
week.

Walking METminutes per week =

Numerical

3.3*walking minutes*
walking days.
Moderate METminutes per week =
4.0*moderates
intensity activity
minutes*moderate
days.
Vigorous METminutes per week =
8.0*vigorous intensity
activity
minutes*vigorous
intensity days.

Total MET-minutes per week

= Walk(METs*mean*days) +
Mod(METs*min*days) +
Vig(METs*min*days)
10.

Overweight
and Obesity
(BMI)

11.
Smoking
status

Body mass index (BMI)

is a simple index of
weight-for-height that is
commonly used to
classify overweight and
obesity in adults. It is
defined as a person's
weight in kilograms
divided by the square of
his height in meters
(kg/m2).

Categorical
Based on body mass index
(BMI)
A person with a BMI of 30 or
more is generally considered
obese. A person with a BMI
equal to or more than 25 is
considered overweight.

(WHO, 2016)

(WHO, 2016)

Current smoker: An
adult who has smoked
100 cigarettes in his or
her lifetime and who
currently smokes
cigarettes.

The data was collected based

on several questions about
cigarettes smoking and
categorized into:

Former smoker: An

1. Current smoker
2. Former smoker

Categorical

adult who has smoked

at least 100 cigarettes in
his/her lifetime but who
had quit smoking at the
time of interview.

3. Never smoker

Never smoker: An adult

who has never smoked,
or who has smoked less
than 100 cigarettes in
his or her lifetime.
(Centers for Disease
Control, 2009)
12.

Family
hypertension

A family history of high

blood pressure means
you have someone in
your family (a blood
relative such as a
mother, father,
sister, or brother) who
has or had
high blood pressure
before the
age of 60.
(Centers for Disease
Control,2009)

The data is collected based

Categorical
on the number of parents that
is hypertensive (both,only
one or none) and whether
other relatives is hypertensive