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PREVALENCE AND DETERMINANTS OF PREHYPERTENSION AMONG ADULT PATIENTS ATTENDING THE GENERAL OUTPATIENT CLINIC OF THE FEDERAL MEDICAL CENTRE, OWERRI, IMO STATE
Abstract
Background: Recent studies have documented an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD)
in persons with systolic blood pressures of 120–139 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressures of
80–89 mmHg, classified as prehypertension in the Seventh Report of the US Joint National
Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure. This
study estimated the prevalence and determinants of prehypertension in adult patients attending
the GOP Clinic of the Federal Medical Centre, Owerri.
Methods: The study used data from participants in the population constituting of 369
consecutive subjects, 197 males and 172 females, who were recruited based on the inclusion
criteria. A sample of 369 subjects, 18 years and above, completed an interviewer-administered
questionnaire and had anthropometric and blood pressure measurements performed by the
author using standardized procedures. Fasting blood glucose and lipid profile were measured
using venous blood samples. Analyses yielded crude, and sex-specific prevalence estimates for
prehypertension and other CVD risk factors. Odds ratios for associations of prehypertension with
CVD risk factors were obtained using multivariate logistic regression.
Results: Prehypertension occurred in 39.57% of the study population and was associated with
increased prevalence of other CVD risk factors. The major determinants of prehypertension in
the study population were waist circumference, age, cigarette smoking and physical activity.
Conclusion: It is recommended that appropriate lifestyle measures like regular aerobic exercise
and avoidance of smoking, in addition to the DASH eating plan be adopted. Further studies are
needed to determine the cause and effect relationship between prehypertension and
cardiovascular risk factors.
