Modifiable Risk Factors for Hypertension in a Rural Community of Delta State, Nigeria

Abstract

Hypertension is a major cause of death worldwide and a major contributor to cardiovascular events in developing nations. This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of some modifiable risk factors of hypertension among adults in a rural community. A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted among 300 adult aged 18 – 65 years who were selected by stratified sampling method in a rural community of Delta State, Nigeria. Each respondent was interviewed with a researcher administered semi structured questionnaire and had weight and height measured, and body mass index (BMI) calculated. Farmers (41.0%) and artisans (19.7 %) make up most of the population and majority had secondary education (51.0%) as the highest level attained. Their mean age was 34.9 ± 12.8 years. The hypertension risk factors identified and their prevalence rates were: alcohol consumption 43.0 %, cigarette smoking (23.7 %) in males and (0.0 %) in females, physical inactivity 5.7 %, and obesity 5.3 %. This study found that the rate of alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking was high in this community. It is recommended that any health promoting, preventive or intervention programme for this population should pay emphasis on their alcohol consumption and smoking habits.

Key words: hypertension risk factors, prevalence, rural, community