Prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension in Bissau, Western Africa

Autores da FMUP

• Nuno Miguel De Sousa Lunet

  Autor

Participantes de fora da FMUP

• Tur?, R
• Damasceno, A
• Djic?, M

Unidades de investigação

• Ciências da Saúde Pública e Forenses, e Educação Médica

Abstract

Hypertension is the leading preventable risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. In Guinea?Bissau there are no previous population-based hypertension surveys. Therefore, the authors aimed to estimate the prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of high blood pressure among adults living in Bissau. A sample (n?=?973) of dwellers in Bissau, aged 18?69 years, was assembled through stratified and cluster sampling. Patients underwent face-to-face interviews and blood pressure measurements following the World Health Organization Stepwise Approach to Chronic Disease Risk Factor Surveillance. The prevalence of hypertension was 26.9%, and 51.4% of hypertensive individuals were aware of their condition, of whom 51.8% reported having received pharmacological treatment in the previous 2?weeks. Among the latter, 49.9% had blood pressure values below 140/90?mm Hg. These findings show that hypertension has become a major public health problem in Guinea-Bissau, emphasizing the urgent need to develop and implement national strategies for the prevention and management of hypertension. ? 2022 The Authors. The Journal of Clinical Hypertension published by Wiley Periodicals LLC

Keywords

• Western Africa; awareness; drug therapy; Guinea-Bissau; health surveys; hypertension