Hypertension and its Associated Risk Factors Detected through Portable Mobile Lab at PHC, Najafgarh, Delhi

Hypertension, the world’s leading risk factor for global disease burden, is expected to cause more than half of the estimated 17 million deaths per year resulting from cardiovascular disease (CVD) worldwide. The presence of other risk factors such as hyperlipidaemia, cigarette smoking, diabetes, and elevated age can greatly increase the risks associated with even mild hypertension. Defined as an elevation of systolic blood pressure (BP) beyond 140 mm Hg and diastolic more than 90 mm Hg, hypertension is strongly correlated with adverse outcomes such as stroke, ischemic heart disease, heart failure, and end stage renal disease. Although the condition is common, readily detectable, and easily treatable, it is usually asymptomatic and often leads to lethal complications if left untreated. According to Global Burden of Disease Hypertension is the 4th contributor to premature death in developed countries and the 7th in the developing countries with the overall prevalence of 26.4% among the adult population in 2000. Escalating cardiovascular risk factors such as smoking, high blood pressure (BP), high low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, low high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, metabolic syndrome and diabetes are the major risk factors associated with the increasing CVD in India. Many low- and middle-income countries, most of which are in the midst of the epidemiological transition, face rapidly increasing prevalence of hypertension in the context of limited healthcare resources.10 Thus, in these countries developing innovative and cost-effective solutions to improve hypertension diagnosis as well as management and control remains a key priority.

India, being a culturally and socially diverse nation, differences would be noted in the region-wise prevalence of hypertension, but research regarding the same is inadequate in the rural areas of Delhi. This inadequacy necessitated us to conduct this study with the objective of assessing the prevalence rate of hypertension and its associated risk factors including the socio-demographic correlates of hypertension using innovative and cost effective technique. During OPD visits, the objectives of the study were explained to the participants and data was collected by personal interviews using predesigned, pretested and semi structured questionnaires to assess their socio-demographic profile like age, sex, religion, profession, educational status and so forth. WHO STEPS approach was employed to study the profile of the hypertension in the population. During OPD visits, at the sub-centers under VMMC & SJH New Delhi, the objectives of the study were explained to the participants and data was collected by personal interviews using predesigned, pretested and semi structured questionnaires to assess their socio-demographic profile like age, sex, religion, profession, educational status and so forth. WHO STEPS approach was employed to study the profile of the hypertension in the population. Information on behavioral risk factors were collected i.e. tobacco use, alcohol use and related factors using a questionnaire; clinical measurements such as weight, height and blood pressure were obtained using Mobile lab which was already validated through ICMR. Out of total 500 subjects, 193 (38.6%) were males and 307 (61.4 %) were females where as 92.8% were Hindus, 6.4% were Muslims, and 0.8% were Christians. The proportion of literate was 77.2%. Unemployment among the study subject was 21.4%. The reported prevalence rate of hypertension was (n=101/500) 20.2% of which, a higher prevalence was noted among males (n=41/193) 21.2% as compared to females (n=60/307) 19.5%.

To conclude, hypertension increases the load in term of morbidity and indirectly put immense economic burden on already economically stressed Indian economy. The high prevalence of hypertension, noted in the study, necessitates the need to plan future community-based studies in the same region with an additional objective to quantify the lifestyle factors responsible for the same.

Reference: Tripathi N, Kishore J, Kumar N. Hypertension and its Associated Risk Factors Detected through Portable Mobile Lab at PHC, Najafgarh, Delhi. Epidem Int 2018; 3(3): 1-7.