May Measurement Month 2017: an analysis of blood pressure screening results in Cote d’Ivoire—Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Elevated blood pressure (BP) is a growing burden worldwide, leading to over 10 million deaths each year. In Cote d’Ivoire, high BP is the first risk factor for stroke and myocardial infarction. May Measurement Month (MMM) is a global initiative of the International Society of Hypertension aimed at raising awareness of high BP and to act as a temporary solution to the lack of screening programmes worldwide. An opportunistic cross-sectional survey of volunteers aged ≥18 was carried out in May 2017. BP measurement, the definition of hypertension and statistical analysis followed the standard MMM17 protocol. A Coordinators Team was created. All doctors in cardiology training of Abidjan Institute of Cardiology ( N = 72) were briefed to carry out the MMM study as investigators, and 55 sites were created. These were major urban transport stations, supermarkets and markets, and churches. BP was calculated from the mean of the 2nd and 3rd readings, and hypertension was defined as a systolic BP of at least 140 mmHg and/or a diastolic BP of at least 90 mmHg or being on BP-lowering treatment. We screened 24 563 individuals during MMM17, with mean age of 37 years. After multiple imputations, 5015 (20.4%) had hypertension. Of individuals not receiving anti-hypertensive medication, 3943 (16.8%) were hypertensive. Of individuals receiving anti-hypertensive medication, 583 (54.4%) had uncontrolled BP. MMM17 was the largest BP screening campaign undertaken in Cote d’Ivoire. MMM allowed us to identify many undiagnosed and inadequately treated hypertension cases and could usefully lower the burden attributed to increased BP. MMM should be continued.

Prevalence of Hypertension and Associated Factors in Lubumbashi City, Democratic Republic of Congo: A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study

“…Compared to authors from Sub-Saharan Africa, the prevalence of hypertension reported in this study was similar to 34.5% reported by Savarino et al in Angola [ 19 ]. However, it is higher than those observed in the surveys by Kramoh et al in Côte d'Ivoire (20.4%) [ 20 ], Henry et al in Malawi (22.3%) [ 21 ], Elijah et al in Kenya (24.6%) [ 22 ], Fastone et al in Zambia (25.9%) [ 23 ], and Anastase et al in Cameroon (29.2%) [ 24 ]. On the other hand, it is lower than that noted in the survey by Bertrand et al in the Republic of Congo (41%) [ 25 ].…”

Financial burdens of HIV and chronic disease on people living with HIV in Côte d’Ivoire: A cross-sectional out-of-pocket expenditure study

“…NCDs are increasingly prevalent in Côte d'Ivoire, although population-based data are scarce [16]. Cardiovascular disease was the 5 th leading cause of death in 2017 [17], and a screening campaign the same year found HTN in 20% of 24,563 adults tested [18]. The International Diabetes Federation estimates that 2.4% of Ivorian adults have diabetes [19].…”

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“…In this issue, Balayssac‐Siransy et al report blood pressure and demographic characteristics of young, healthy black Africans from Cote d’Ivoire. Researchers within Cote d’Ivoire have published only a handful of reports on hypertension prevalence and its associated risk factors (Euloge et al., 2019; Sackou et al., 2019), and none in this age group.…”