Undiagnosed and diagnosed hypertension in a community setting at Hosanna town: Uncovering the burden

Abstract

Background Hypertension is a leading cause of cardio-vascular diseases and its attributed mortality. No previous study, however, assessed the prevalence and associated factors of hypertension in the study area. Methods We recruited a representative sample of 627 adult individuals from selected kebeles of Hosanna town. A multi-stage sampling technique was employed in the study. A structured questionnaire using the WHO STEPS approach was employed to conduct a face to face interview and physical measurements. For each participant, we measured blood pressure two times after giving 10 minutes breaks between the measurements and we took the average. Hypertension status was defined as “systolic blood pressure ≥140mmhg and/or diastolic blood pressure ≥90mmhg”. Undiagnosed hypertension was defined as participants who had raised blood pressure on measurement, but not aware of it before. We used Multivariable logistic regression model to determine factors associated with hypertension. Results The overall prevalence of hypertension was found to be 17.2% (95% CI 14.5 – 19.9), 19.3% among men and 14.2% among women, of which 10.2% were unaware of it before. Hypertension was significantly associated with old age ≥35 years, excess alcohol intake, consumption of saturated oil/fat), consumption of unspecified different types of oil/fat and overweight/obesity. Conclusion The prevalence of hypertension (both diagnosed and undiagnosed) in the town is unacceptably high. This is also related to modifiable risk factors like excessive alcohol intake, overweight/obesity and consumption of saturated fat/oil. Therefore, designing health information provision systems on the risk factors of hypertension and promotion of good health practices should be considered. Moreover, the health departments should facilitate blood pressure screening programs at community levels to identify and treat undiagnosed hypertension.