Background: Hypertension is the major cause of cardiovascular diseases and premature mortality worldwide. Emerging evidence shows that young adults are increasingly at risk of hypertension alongside the older population. Most of the previous studies reported the prevalence and risk factors of hypertension among the older population aged above 35 years. Objective: We aimed to estimate the prevalence of prehypertension and hypertension with their correlates among young Bangladeshi adults aged between 18 and 34 years. Methods: This study used data of 5394 young adults aged between 18 and 34 years from the most recent round (2017-18) of the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey. Prehypertension and hypertension were defined according to the Joint National Committee 7 cut-off points. Results: The prevalence of prehypertension and hypertension was 33.4% and 9.7%, respectively. No difference was observed in the prevalence of hypertension among younger adults from rural and urban areas (9.7% vs. 9.6%). Hypertension was slightly more prevalent among males (10.6%) compared to females (9.2%). Relatively older age (25-30 years and 31-34 years), being male, and having a higher body mass index (i.e., overweight/ obese) were identified as the risk factors associated with prehypertension and hypertension after adjusting for all confounders in multivariate logistic regression models. Conclusions: One out of ten young Bangladeshi adults was hypertensive, while one out of three was prehypertensive. The findings of the present study warrant the need for early prevention, detection, and treatment of hypertension among young adults in Bangladesh.

Most studies either followed Joint National Committee 7 (JNC 7) or World Health Organization-International Society of Hypertension (WHO-ISH) guidelines to ascertain the prevalence of hypertension among Bangladeshi adults. The American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) revised the definition of hypertension in 2017, which has significant public health importance. In Bangladesh, the new guideline has resulted changes in prevalence and risk factors for hypertension compared to the JNC7 guideline. This study used data from the most recent round (2017–2018) of the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS). According to the 2017 ACC/AHA guideline, the participants were categorized as hypertensive if they had blood pressure (BP) ≥ 130/80 mmHg, but it was ≥ 140/90 mmHg in JNC 7 guideline. A total of 11,959 participants were involved in the analysis. The median (IQR) age of the respondents was 34.0 (18.0–95.0) years. The prevalence of hypertension was 24.0% according to the JNC 7 guideline, which was 50.5% according to the 2017 ACC/AHA guideline. Participants who were overweight and obese, aged, member of affluent households, Rangpur and Rajshahi division inhabitants had significantly higher odds of being hypertensive according to both guidelines. The new guideline suggests that half of the adult population in Bangladesh is hypertensive when measured according to the new guideline, urging the policymakers and public health practitioners to take immediate action to address the already established modifiable risk factors.

Background We aimed to determine the factors that increase the risk of HRFB in Bangladeshi women of reproductive age 15–49 years. Methods The study utilised the latest Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) 2017–18 dataset. The Pearson's chi-square test was performed to determine the relationships between the outcome and the independent variables, while multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify the potential determinants associated with HRFB. Results Overall 67.7% women had HRFB among them 45.6% were at single risk and 22.1% were at multiple high-risks. Women’s age (35–49 years: AOR = 6.42 95% CI 3.95–10.42), who were Muslims(AOR = 5.52, 95% CI 2.25–13.52), having normal childbirth (AOR = 1.47, 95% CI 1.22–1.69), having unwanted pregnancy (AOR = 10.79, 95% CI 5.67–18.64) and not using any contraceptive methods  (AOR = 1.37, 95% CI 1.24–1.81) were significantly associated with increasing risk of having HRFB. Alternatively, women and their partners’ higher education were associated with reducing HRFB. Conclusion A significant proportion of Bangladeshi women had high-risk fertility behaviour which is quite alarming. Therefore, the public health policy makers in Bangladesh should emphasis on this issue and design appropriate interventions to reduce the maternal HRFB.