Awareness of Hypertension, Blood Pressure Profile, Anthropometric Parameters and Lifestyle of Adults in Urban and Rural Communities of Sokoto State, Nigeria

Introduction: The increasing prevalence of hypertension and its associated complications have become major health challenges globally despite availability of effective therapies and interventions for the disease. This has been attributed to poor awareness of the disease and the rising prevalence of its risk factors particularly in the developing countries. This study aimed to assess the awareness of hypertension, blood pressure profile, anthropometric parameters and lifestyle of adults in Sokoto State, Nigeria.

Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted among adults (selected by multistage sampling technique) in rural and urban communities of Sokoto State, Nigeria. Data was collected with a set of pretested, interviewer- administered, semi-structured questionnaire, in addition to blood pressure measurement and anthropometry. Data was analyzed using IBM SPSS version 20 statistical package.

Results: Most of the participants in both the rural (87.7%) and urban (91.3%) groups were aware of hypertension. Seventy one (28.2%) and 75 (29.8%) of the 252 respondents in each of the rural and urban groups respectively were hypertensive. Less than a third of participants with hypertension in both the rural 20 (28.2%) and urban 20 (26.7%) groups were aware that they had the disease. Similarly, less than a third of participants with hypertension in both the rural 21 (29.6%) and urban 22 (29.3%) groups received treatment for the disease. While about a quarter and less of participants in both groups were overweight/obese (rural 26.2%, urban 19.4%), about one-tenth currently smoke cigarette (rural 10.4%, urban 9.9%), and very few engaged in alcohol consumption (rural 0.4%, urban 2.0%). Only about one-fifth of participants in both the rural (17.1%) and urban (20.6%) groups consistently engaged in regular moderate exercise.

Conclusion: Although awareness and prevalence of hypertension were high among the participants in the study, only a few were aware of their blood pressure status, and treatment/control of high blood pressure was very poor among them. Similarly, obesity/overweight and sedentary lifestyle were prevalent among the participants. These findings suggest the need for routine community based screening and intensification of health education on the disease and its risk factors across the populations in the state.