High prevalence of prehypertension in mothers of young children in peri-urban Nepal

Abstract

Background: Prehypertension is clinically defi ned as a level of blood pressure between normal and hypertension, i.e. elevated systolic blood pressure between120-139 or diastolic blood pressure between 80-89 mm Hg. Prehypertension remains neglectedas a public health problem, and has not been explored in mothers with small childrenin Nepal. Objectives: We aimed to study prehypertensionand its related factors including obesity-related parameters among mothers with children aged 1-7 years in Duwakot and Jhaukhel communities of Bhaktapur district, Nepal. Methods: We prepared a sampling frame of all the eligible mothers, and interviewed 962 mothers. The trained enumerators also measured their blood pressure, body weight, height, waist and hip circumferences.We analysed data with SPSS version 22. We received ethical approval from the Nepal Health Research Council to conduct the study, and obtained informed verbal consent from the participating mothers. Results: About one-third (31.8%) of the mothers had prehypertension. It was more common among Newars and those aged 30-34 years. Multivariate analysis did not reveal signifi cant association with sociodemographic variables except for education. We found positive correlations between blood pressure and obesity parameters.Overweight and obese participants were 2.24 (95% confi dence interval: 1.06-4.73) and 4.65 (95% confi dence interval: 1.92-11.23) times, respectively, more likely to have prehypertension than underweight mothers. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated a high prevalence of prehypertension, coupled with high obesity parameters, among young mothers of peri-urban Nepal. Primordial preventive efforts at community level are needed not only for the mothers themselves, but for heart-health of their offspring as well.

Effectiveness of health promotion regarding diet and physical activity among Nepalese mothers and their young children: The Heart-health Associated Research, Dissemination, and Intervention in the Community (HARDIC) trial

“…Our earlier studies in the Jhaukhel-Duwakot Health Demographic Surveillance Site (JD-HDSS) in the Bhaktapur district near Kathmandu, Nepal's capital city [17], showed a high prevalence of CVD risk factors, including unhealthy diet and low physical activity [18,19]. JD-HDSS also showed a high prevalence of prehypertension (31.8%) in mothers of young children [20]. Further, our qualitative study among mothers in JD-HDSS revealed gaps and misconceptions regarding heart-healthy diet and physical activity [21].…”