RESUMO
Background: Hypertension and proteinuria are risk factors for cardiovascular disease. They are also important risk factors for further deterioration of renal function in chronic kidney disease (CKD) irrespective of the cause of CKD. Both are asymptomatic at early stages and can only be detected during medical consultation for a related or unrelated illness. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study carried out to assess awareness of blood pressure (BP) status among adults in a semi-urban community in Southern Nigeria. The magnitude of undiagnosed hypertension and proteinuria in the community was also assessed. BP measurement was by standardized method while proteinuria was detected by use of urinary dipstick. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 21.0. Results: A total of 389 people were recruited. There were 223 (57.3) males and 116 (42.7) females. Only 104 (26.7) were aware of their BP status before the study. Awareness was higher in females but did not differ significantly among the different age groups; educational status or occupations. Hypertension was newly diagnosed in 105 (27) of the participants while proteinuria was diagnosed in 47 (12.1). Proteinuria and overweight were higher among participants with prehypertension than other BP categories. Conclusions: The study revealed a low level of awareness of BP status and a high prevalence of undiagnosed hypertension and proteinuria in the community. Concerted efforts are needed to improve the awareness of BP and other risk factors for cardiovascular and kidney diseases
Assuntos
Adulto , Pressão Sanguínea , Hipertensão , ProteinúriaRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Hypertension control is a challenge globally. Barriers to optimal control exist at the patient, physician, and health system levels. Patient-related barriers in our environment are not clear. The aim of this study was to identify patient-related barriers to control of hypertension among adults with hypertension in a semiurban community in South-East Nigeria. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study of patients with a diagnosis of hypertension and on antihypertensive medication. RESULTS: A total of 252 participants were included in the survey, and comprised 143 males (56.7%) and 109 females (43.3%). The mean age of the participants was 56.6±12.7 years, with a diagnosis of hypertension for a mean duration of 6.1±3.3 years. Among these patients, 32.9% had controlled blood pressure, while 39.3% and 27.8%, respectively, had stage 1 and stage 2 hypertension according to the Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection and Evaluation of High Blood Pressure. Only 23.4% knew the consequences of poor blood pressure control and 64% were expecting a cure from treatment even when the cause of hypertension was not known. Furthermore, 68.7% showed low adherence to medication, the reported reasons for which included forgetfulness (61.2%), financial constraints (56.6%), high pill burden (22.5%), side effects of medication (17.3%), and low measured blood pressure (12.1%). Finally, knowledge and practice of the lifestyle modifications necessary for blood pressure control was inadequate among the participants. CONCLUSION: Poor knowledge regarding hypertension, unrealistic expectations of treatment, poor adherence with medication, unawareness of lifestyle modification, and failure to apply these were identified as patient-related barriers to blood pressure control in this study.
