Publication Details

AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS

SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH

medicine

High prevalence and low awareness of hypertension in a market population in Enugu, Nigeria

International Journal of Hypertension, Volume 2011, Article 869675, Year 2011

Background. A community-based study put the prevalence of hypertension in Nigeria at 32.8%. Market workers in Nigeria lead sedentary life style and often depend on salt-laden fast food while at work. Method. An unselected population of market workers were screened for hypertension and its risk factors by a pretested, structured questionnaire, clinical examination, and laboratory investigation. Hypertension was defined as BP ≥ 140 and/or ≥ 90 mmHg or being on drug therapy. Results. Forty-two percent of the screened population were hypertensive. Of this number, 70.6% did not know they were hypertensive before the screening. More males than females (P =.022) were hypertensive. Prevalence of hypertension increased with age from 5.4% in the age group <20 years to 80% in the age group ≥70 years. Conclusion. The prevalence of hypertension in market workers in this study was 42%, and the majority of them were unaware of their disease. Copyright © 2011 Ifeoma I. Ulasi et al.
Statistics
Citations: 175
Authors: 6
Affiliations: 1
Identifiers
Research Areas
Food Security
Noncommunicable Diseases
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study
Study Locations
Nigeria
Participants Gender
Female