The Prevalence and Risk Factors of Hypertension in Klong Toey Slum and Klong Toey Government Apartment Houses

Abstract

We have investigated the prevalence and factors associated with hypertension in 976 residents of Klong Toey Slum and 909 residents of government apartment houses, aged 30 and above, selected by probability sampling after systematic household surveys with an average response rate of over 80%. Hypertensives were those who had, on at least three measurements, average diastolic blood pressure equal to or above 95 mmHg and/or systolic blood pressure equal to or above 160 mmHg or had blood pressure below 160/95 mmHg but were currently on antihypertensive medication. The prevalence of total hypertensives were found to be 17.3% and 14.0% for residents of slum and government apartment houses respectively. Men and women had more or less equal mean blood pressure and similar prevalence of hypertension. The mean systolic blood pressure increased with age while the mean diastolic blood pressure, after an initial rise with age in lower age groups, tended to level off from the age group 55-64 years upwards. Only one quarter to one third were aware of their illness and less than 15% were receiving treatment. Significant risk factors include age, duration of smoking, duration of alcohol intake, high body mass index, high Cholesterol, high Triglyceride, high Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (LDLC), low High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (HDLC), high Total Cholesterol (TC) to High Density Lipoprotein ratio (TC/HDLC), high LDLC to HDLC ratio and diabetes mellitus. The data suggested that hypertension was an important public health problem in low socioeconomic groups in Bangkok. Some of the risk factors were related to an unhealthy lifestyle which should receive due consideration in planning for appropriate control.

High prevalence of diabetes, obesity and dyslipidaemia in urban slum population in northern India

“…In the Klong Toey slums of Bangkok, 25.5% of the subjects were overweight and 10% were obese. 10,11 A study involving women in a low-income area in Karachi showed 42 and 8% of women to be overweight and have abdominal obesity respectively, 12 an observation similar to the current study. Sawaya et al reported high prevalence of obesity and malnutrition coexisting in the same population.…”

Adverse profile of dietary nutrients, anthropometry and lipids in urban slum dwellers of northern India

“…In the Klong Toey slums of Bangkok, in addition to high prevalence of hypertension and dyslipidaemia, 25.5% of the subjects were overweight, 10% obese, and 4.5% had diabetes mellitus (Bunnag et al, 1990). Adverse lifestyle factors have been reported to be associated with high prevalence of the diseases in another study from the same area (Sitthi-Amorn et al, 1989). In a low-income area in Karachi, Pakistan, 42% of women were overweight and 8% were obese, with abdominal obesity as a prominent feature (Akatsu & Aslam, 1996).…”

Hypertension in a Brazilian Urban Slum Population

“…6,7 Although a number of studies have reported the prevalence of hypertension in low-and middle-income countries, 2,8,9 few have explicitly studied hypertension within urban informal settlements or slums, which are communities with limited access to the formal healthcare system. [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] In 2003, the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat) operationally defined slums as urban areas characterized by their poor sanitation infrastructure, limited access to safe water, poor structural housing quality, and overcrowding. In 2012, they estimated that 863 million people in developing regions lived in slums, making up 33 % of their urban populations, 20 further estimating that this population will reach two billion by 2025.…”