RSUSSH 2020
IN20-119 Prevalence of Prehypertension and its Associated Factors among Health Workers in Nepalese Central Hospitals
Presenter: Prakash Ghimire
Mae Fah Luang University, Thailand
Abstract
Prehypertension is the window of opportunity to prevent people from getting hypertension, a silent killer disease, which is commonly found in adults. Health workers are a vital workforce of the nation which belongs to an adult population that could have a chance to get hypertension. Nevertheless, there is a lack of information on prehypertension among health workers in Nepal. This study aimed to find the prevalence of prehypertension and its associated factors health workers of central hospitals in Nepal. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 273 Nepalese health workers from 7 central hospitals. The validated questionnaire was used to collect data using face-to-face interviews. The physical measurements, i.e., weight, height, and blood pressure of the participants, were measured based on the WHO manual. In this study, prehypertension was defined based on the JNC 7th report as other latest guideline are not acceptable worldwide yet. The logistic regression was used to analyze the factors associated with prehypertension. The possible estimation error of blood pressure due to single-visit blood pressure measurement might be the limitation of this study.
The study showed that there were 63.37% female, 76.20% aged 30-39 years, 78.39% married, and 43.59% nurses among participants. The prevalence of prehypertension was 67.40% (95% CI:61.50-72.90). The predictors of prehypertension were 40-49 years age group (AOR:2.40, 95% CI:1.07-5.39), male sex (AOR:2.18, 95% CI:1.18-4.03), contract employment (AOR:2.73, 95% CI:1.28-5.83), overweight (AOR:1.86, 95% CI:1.02-3.39), and moderate perceived stress (AOR:2.48, 95% CI:1.39-4.42). There is a high prevalence of prehypertension in Nepalese health workers. It calls for urgent need to implement effective health promotion activities focusing on screening of blood pressure, weight reduction, and stress management to prevent the progression of hypertension among Nepalese health workers.
Citation format:
Ghimire, P., Anuwatnonthakate, A., & Trongsakul, S.. (2020). Prevalence of Prehypertension and its Associated Factors among Health Workers in Nepalese Central Hospitals. Proceeding in RSU International Research Conference, May 1, 2020. Pathum Thani, Thailand.QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Question: How were the lifestyle (eg., exercise/physical activities, stress) and food habits (eg., vegetarians etc.) of the participants and any correlations/associations with them studied or observed in this work?
Thank your for your questions sir.
Anwers to the questions:
This study collected the data on characteristics of the participants i.e. socio-demographic characteristics, clinical characteristics, behavioral characteristics, occupational characteristics, and perceived stress.
Yes, lifestyle and food habits of the participants were studied in this study. In behavioral characteristics of the participants, the information about their physical acitivity level (MET-minute/week), amount of salt intake (grams/day), and level of fruits & vegetable consumption (servings/day) were obtained. Similarly, the perceived stress among participants were measured using standard perceived stress scale-10.
Based on the study findings, 142 (52.01%) of participants had low level of physical activity(<600MET-minute/week), 165(60.44%) of the participants had a habit of high salt intake (>5 grams/day), and 153(56.04%) of participants had a habit of low fruits and vegetable consumption (<5 servings/day). Regarding stress, 149(54.58%) of participants were found to have moderate level to high level of percieved stress.
All the participant's characteristics including behavioral (lifestyle and food habits) and perceived stress were tested for its association with prehypertension through univariate and multivariate analysis in binary logistic regression model at 95% CI and p-value 0.05.
In univariate analysis, age, sex, employment type, body mass index, amount of salt intake, level of fruits and vegetable consumption, and level of perceived stress were found to be associated factors of prehypertension. However, after adjusting those factors through multivariate analysis, only five factors (40-49 years age group, male sex, contract employement, overweight, and moderate level of perceived stress) were found to be significantly associated with prehypertension among participants in this study.
Results while testing association of lifestyle and food habits with prehypertension among participants in this study:
1. Physical activity level was not found to be associated with prehypertension, both in univariate and multivariate analysis.
2. Level of perceived stress was found to be signficantly associated with prehypertension, both in univariate and multivariate analysis.
3. Amount of salt intake was found to be signficantly associated with prehypertension in univariate analysis, however, no association was observed during multivariate analysis.
4. Level of fruits and vegetable consumption was found to be signficantly associated with prehypertension in univariate analysis, however, no association was observed during multivariate analysis.
Regards,
Prakash Ghimire