Prevalence and associated factors of hypertension in selected urban and rural areas of Dhaka, Bangladesh: Findings from SHASTO baseline survey
Citation
Hasan, M., Khan, M. S. A., Sutradhar, I., Hossain, M. M., Hossaine, M., Yoshimura, Y., . . . Mridha, M. K. (2021). Prevalence and associated factors of hypertension in selected urban and rural areas of Dhaka, Bangladesh: Findings from SHASTO baseline survey. BMJ Open, 11(1) doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2020-038975Abstract
Objective: We implemented this study to report the
prevalence and associated risk factors of hypertension
among adult men and women aged >30 years residing
in selected urban and rural areas of Dhaka division,
Bangladesh.
Design Cross-sectional study.
Setting Two urban (Dhaka city north and Dhaka city
south) and two rural (Narsinghdi and Gazipur district) areas
of the Dhaka division.
Participants A total of 4856 male and female
participants were included in the final analysis, of whom
2340 (48.2%) were from urban and 2516 (51.8%) were
from rural areas.
Primary outcome Hypertension was the dependent
variable for this study and was operationally defined as
systolic blood pressure >140mm of Hg and/or diastolic
blood pressure >90mm of Hg, and/or persons with already
diagnosed hypertension.
Results The overall prevalence of hypertension was
31.0%, and the prevalence was higher among urban
participants (urban: 36.9%, rural: 30.6%). Age (across
all categories), female (urban—adjusted OR (AOR): 1.3,
95%CI: 1.0 to 1.5 and rural—AOR: 1.7, 95%CI: 1.4 to
2.1)), higher educational status (urban—AOR: 1.7, 95%CI:
1.3 to 2.2 and rural—AOR: 2.1, 95%CI: 1.5 to 3.1),
inadequate physical activity (urban—AOR: 1.3, 95%CI:
1.0 to 1.7 and rural—AOR: 1.5, 95%CI: 1.2 to 1.9) and
overweight/obesity (urban—AOR: 2.7, 95%CI: 2.1 to 3.3
and rural—AOR: 2.1, 95%CI: 1.7 to 2.5) were associated
with hypertension in both urban and rural areas. Women
who were not currently married during the survey had
higher odds of hypertension only in the rural areas
(rural—AOR: 1.8, 95%CI: 1.3 to 2.4), and respondents
who were not working during the survey had higher odds
of hypertension only in the urban areas (AOR: 1.7, 95%CI:
1.0 to 2.6).
Conclusion Since the prevalence of hypertension
was high in urban and rural areas, the government of
Bangladesh should consider implementing hypertension
prevention programmes focusing young population of
Dhaka division. In addition, early screening programmes
and management of hypertension need to be strengthened
for people with hypertension in both the areas.