Prevalence and correlates for hypertension among full-time UNZA academic staff

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the prevalence and factors associated with hypertension among full-time UNZA academic staff.
Design: Cross-sectional study.
Main outcome measure: Raised blood pressure.
Results: A total of 100 full time employed University of Zambia staff was enrolled into the study of which 25% were females. Altogether 22% of the participants smoked cigarettes, and 63% of them consumed alcohol. Overall, 40% of the participants were hypertensive. Age was
significantly associated with hypertension. On each birthday, participants were 16% (OR=1.16, 95% CI [1.09, 1.23]) more likely to be hypertensive.
Conclusions: The prevalence of hypertension was high and interventions must be put in place to curtail this high rate of hypertension among academic staff of the University of Zambia.