Prevalence and Risk Factors of Hypertension Among Women in a Rural Population

Background: There are very few epidemiological studies on the prevalence of hypertension and its risk factors among women in the rural population. The aim of this study was to determine prevalence and risk factors of hypertension among women in Iranian rural population. Methods: This cross-sectional study performed on 143 women of 30 years and above were selected from a rural area of Ilam province (Dare Shahr). Random sampling was sampling method by using lottery method. SPSS version 21 used for analysis. Results: Mean ±SD of age among study participants was 43.5 ± 10.6 years. About 41 (28.7%) of women used tobacco and 71.3% (n=102) of the women never used tobacco in the lifetime. About 64.9% of women consumed > 5 g (World Health Organization recommended level) of salt per day. 5.8% of women were in Grade I obesity and (2.5%) was in morbid obesity category and in total about 35 % of participants hasn’t normal BMI. 49% of women gave a positive family history of hypertension among first-degree relatives. 38.3% of participants had systolic blood pressure above140 mmHg (isolated systolic hypertension). The mean systolic BP calculated was 133± 24.6 mmHg. The overall prevalence of hypertension among the study participants was calculated to be 34.3% (CI=95%). Conclusion: Significant associations were found between the presence of hypertension and various sociodemographic variables using Chi-square test. Furthermore, there was a significant association between hypertension and consumption of smokeless tobacco, low physical activity level.

Keywords:

Hypertension , prevalence , rural population