Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors of Hypertension in a Rural Community of Western Nepal: A Cross Sectional Study

Abstract

Background and aim: Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Hypertension evolved as a major public problem in urban populations of many countries including Nepal, but little is known about its prevalence and risk factors in rural areas. The objective of our study was to assess the prevalence of and risk factors associated with hypertension.Methods: A community-based cross-sectional survey was carried out in November 2017 in a four days health camp where peoples from ward number eight of Suklagandaki municipality of Tanahu district were called for screening of diabetes mellitus. No prior notice was given to the population about screening of hypertension. We screened total of 568 participants. Demographics, anthropometry and two independent blood pressure (BP) readings were taken. The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS version 18.0.Results: A total of 568 individuals were interviewed and taken complete BP, weight and height measurements. More than 1/3rd (36.26%) of the respondents were in age group 18- 39 years with mean age 47.49 ± 16.61. Nearly, 60% of the respondents were female. Whilst 17.3% were smokers and 20% reported drinking alcohol. Overall prevalence of hypertension was 41.55% and this was significantly associated with age, gender, education, size of family, smoking habits, intake of alcohol, presence of diabetes mellitus.Conclusion: The prevalence of hypertension was found to be high and it has become a important public health issue even in rural part of Nepal. Community screening program, timely detection, lifestyle modification, treatment and prevention are all important to deal

<p>Perceived Illness and Treatment Adherence to Hypertension Among Patients Attending a Tertiary Hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal</p>

“…7 Studies conducted in different areas of Nepal show a variation in the prevalence of HTN. It is 41.55% in a rural area, 8 28.9% in semiurban, 9 32.5% in an urban area 10 and 48% in the midwestern region. 11 Likewise, it is 25.1% in people above 18 years of age 12 and in general, there is an increasing trend of HTN.…”

Study of Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors for Hypertension in a Teaching Hospital

“…Thapliyal et al 18 and Singh N et al 22 observed male predominance for hypertension 58.7% versus 41.3% and 59.9% versus 40.1% respectively. In contrast, Kafle et al 19 Ponnaganti et al 23 and Ntuli et al 20 observed female preponderance of 60% and 56.4% and 63% respectively. Our observations are similar to above studies.…”

“…In the present study we observed an overall prevalence of hypertension as 43.3% and this was significantly associated with age, gender, education. Kafle et al 19 and Ntuli et al 20 in their studies observed the prevalence of hypertension to be 41.5% and 41.4% respectively. Singh N et al 22 studied hypertension among adolescents and observed the prevalence of hypertension to be 15.3% (14.0% among boys and 17.3% among girls).…”

“…In the study by Kafle et al 19 more than 1/3rd (36.2%) of the respondents were in age group 18-39 years with mean age 47.49 ± 16.61 and in the study by Ntuli et al 20 the age of participants ranged from 15 to 98 years, with a mean of 44.2 ± 20.9 years. In the study by Singh N et al 22 the mean age of the subjects was 14.54 years as they focused on the adolescent age group.…”

“…In the present study on prevalence and risk factors of hypertension the total number of cases was 650. Thapliyal et al 18 and Kafle et al 19 in similar studies had 300 and 568 adult individuals. In a study by Ntuli et al 20 a total of 1407 individuals were interviewed during the period of the study, of whom 1281 had complete information, giving a response rate of 91%.…”