Prevalence and associated factors of uncontrolled blood pressure among hypertensive patients in the rural communities in the central areas in Thailand: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction Hypertension is a common cardiovascular disease at present. Uncontrolled blood pressure leads to further complications including heart attack, stroke and chronic kidney disease. In Thailand, most of the information related to this issue is collected by hospitals or hospital-based organizations rather than at the community level. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension and to assess the relationship between patient characteristics (socio-behavioral and clinical) and uncontrolled blood pressure among hypertensive patients in the rural communities in the central areas in Thailand. Materials and methods This was a cross-sectional study conducted in Na-Yao and Phra-Pleong rural communities of Thailand in 2018 using the total design method. In all, 406 individuals aged ≥18 years were interviewed using structured questionnaires related to demographic information, higher risk behavior, comorbidities and arthrometric measurement. Blood pressure was assessed for all participants. Uncontrolled hypertension was defined as BP ≥140/90 mmHg. Results The prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension was 54.4% (males: 59.8%; females: 52.4%). Uncontrolled blood pressure was associated with neck circumference more than 35.75 cm for males and 32.75 cm. for females (adjusted odds ratio; 1.66, 95% confidence interval; 1.03–2.68), sedentary behavior more than 5 hours a day (adjusted odds ratio; 2.03, 95% confidence interval; 1.28–3.23) and missed doctor appointments (adjusted odds ratio; 3.29, 95% confidence interval; 1.09–9.94). Conclusion Approximately one half of hypertensive patients in these rural communities had uncontrolled blood pressure. The Ministry of Public Health and health care providers should provide further strategies to prevent uncontrolled blood pressure’s complications.

Clinical audit of adherence to hypertension treatment guideline and control rates in hospitals of different sizes in Thailand

“…Similar to access to hypertension screening services, it is likely that provincial hospitals lose some patients due to larger distance to the hospitals 3 . However, the community hospitals may lose patients due to insufficient communication 29,30 . Reducing loss to follow‐up may be one way to achieve better hypertension control.…”

Prevalence and associated factors of uncontrolled hypertension among hypertensive patients: a nation-wide survey in Thailand

“…Hypertensive complications and end organ damage will not occur in the early period of hypertension. Thus, younger hypertensive patients lack awareness of complications; moreover, working age people may not follow up their appointment with medical doctors resulting from the available time mismatch between working age patients and healthcare services [9]. However, some studies have shown that the prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension among elderly hypertensive patients was more likely to be higher [10–12].…”

Prevalence and associated factors of electrocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy in a rural community, central Thailand

“…Furthermore, we found that 6 (75%) of a total of 8 participants with hypertensive crisis were unaware of HT. Our data suggested that effective community interventions such as HT screening and modified risk factors of uncontrolled blood pressure among adults with HT should be provided in rural settings 19 .…”

“…The participants stood on the floor with Frankfort horizontal plane 17 , then neck circumference was measured at midway between the midcervical spine and midanterior neck to within 1 mm, with a plastic tape 18 . Neck circumference was categorized in two groups, i.e., ≥ 35.75 cm (men), ≥ 32.75 cm (women), < 35.75 cm (men) and < 32.75 cm (women) 19 . Blood pressure was measured using an automatic blood pressure monitor (OMRON, HEM-7120, Kyoto, Japan) by an operator trained in standardized technique following the 2019 Thai guidelines on the treatment of HT 20 .…”