PREVALENCE OF HYPERTENSION AND RISKS FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH IT AMONG 18-70 YEARS AGE GROUP OF RAJBANSHI COMMUNITY OF JHAPA RURAL MUNICIPALITY, JHAPA

Abstract

Background: Hypertension is one of the leading risk factors for CVD and the prevalence of hypertension has been increasing in the South Asian region including Nepal. Hypertension is a prevalent risk factor for cardiovascular and chronic kidney disease as well as premature disability and death. It is important to detect and manage prehypertension and hypertension to reduce the risk of correlated complications especially cardiovascular diseases. However inadequate community based data exist on prevalence of hypertension and its associated-factors. Objective: To assess the prevalence of hypertension and risk factors associated with it among 18-70 years age group of Rajbanshi community of Jhapa Rural Municipality, Jhapa. Method: An analytical cross-section study was conducted on a sample of 168 adults (95-females, 73-males) in Rajbanshi community of Jhapa Rural municipality.The information was obtained using pre-tested questionnaire which included socio- demographic information, dietary intake of individuals and other risk factors like alcohol and tobacco use, physical activity etc. Blood pressure measurements and anthropometric measurements were taken to identify the risk factors, BMI, WHR, WC etc. Stastical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) version 20 and Microsoft Excel 2010 were used for analyzing the data. Chi square test and descriptive analysis were used to identify the prevalence of hypertension and risk factors associated with it. Results: Overall prevalence of hypertension was found to be 25.6% and gender-wise prevalence was found to be 34.2%(male) and 19%(female). Age (p=0.001), sex (p=0.024), smoking(p=0.008), physical activity(p=0.01), family history(p=0.00), diabetes diagnoised(p=0.003) and consumption of GLV(p=0.023) were found to be significantly associated with prevalence of hypertension in Rajbanshi community of Jhapa Rural municipality, Jhapa. Conclusion and Recommendaton: The prevalence of hypertension among adults of Rajbanshi community was high. Effective community based approaches should focus for reduction of prevalence of hypertension and its risk factors.