Prevalence of Hypertension and its Associated Risk Factors During COVID-19 Pandemic in the Capital of Bangladesh

27 Pages Posted: 26 Oct 2022

See all articles by Tanvir Ahmad

Tanvir Ahmad

Jashore University of Science and Technology (JUST) - Department of Nutrition and Food Technology

Urmi Roy

Jashore University of Science and Technology

Arafat Hassan Razon

Jashore University of Science and Technology

Abstract

Background: Hypertension (HTN) has become a key public health problem and a vital reason of mortality and morbidity in developing countries like Bangladesh. The COVID-19 pandemic has induced chronic stress among a significant number of people all over the world; Bangladesh is not an exception in this case. So, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of hypertension and its related risk factors during the COVID-19 pandemic within the capital of Bangladesh.Study designA cross-sectional study.

Methods: This study has used a multistage random sampling technique to select 305 individuals for conducting this study. Data on personal information, socio-demographic information, anthropometric information, dietary information, lifestyle, and blood pressure were collected through a close-ended questionnaire. Data were analyzed through the use of SPSS version 22 software.

Findings: Among the study subjects, about 34.4% prevalence of HTN was identified. Out of 105 hypertensive respondents, 65% of them were newly diagnosed during this study and 11 respondents did not take any medications for hypertension that were pre-diagnosed with hypertension. In this study, we noticed a significant (P<0.001) prevalence of HTN among individuals who used to take inadequate fruits (OR=3.129, 95% CI=1.912-5.122,χ2=21.328), insufficient vegetables (OR=2.199, 95% CI= 1.356-3.565, χ2=10.373), more fatty foods (OR=2.387, 95% CI=1.465-3.890,χ2=12.454) and extra salt intake (OR=2.771, 95% CI=1.677-4.579,χ2=16.310). Moreover, among the overweight (46.70%) and at-risk (22.90%) respondents the prevalence of HTN was higher according to their Body Mass Index (BMI) and Waist to Hip Ratio (WHR) respectively. Risk factors estimation of HTN showed that it had a significant correlation (P<0.001) with smoking (OR=2.824, 95% CI=1.601-4.980,χ2=13.432),  general stress (OR=3.692, 95% CI=2.179-6.255,χ2=24.896), and stress-related to COVID-19 (OR=3.511, 95% CI=2.116-5.826,χ2=24.712).

Conclusions: The nationwide survey, surveillance, and clinical research are mandatory to portray the factual scenario of HTN in Bangladesh. Lifestyle modification and dietary changes should be adopted for HTN treatment.

Note:

Funding Information: None.

Declaration of Interests: The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

Ethics Approval Statement: The Ethical Review Committee, Faculty of Biological Science and Technology, Jashore University of Science and Technology, Bangladesh approved the study. The study was conducted by following all the International Rules for Research Ethics. To conduct the interview as well as essential physical measurements informed written consent was collected from each participant.

Keywords: Hypertension, Prevalence, Lifestyle, Exercise, Diet, COVID-19

Suggested Citation

Ahmad, Tanvir and Roy, Urmi and Razon, Arafat Hassan, Prevalence of Hypertension and its Associated Risk Factors During COVID-19 Pandemic in the Capital of Bangladesh. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4250878 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4250878

Tanvir Ahmad (Contact Author)

Jashore University of Science and Technology (JUST) - Department of Nutrition and Food Technology ( email )

Urmi Roy

Jashore University of Science and Technology ( email )

Bangladesh

Arafat Hassan Razon

Jashore University of Science and Technology ( email )

Bangladesh

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