Screening of market workers in Enugu, Nigeria revealed a 42% prevalence of hypertension, with 70.6% of affected individuals unaware of their disease.
Cross-Sectional
Market workers in Enugu, Nigeria have a high prevalence of hypertension (42%) with low awareness (70.6%), indicating a need for targeted public health screening.
Background. A community-based study put the prevalence of hypertension in Nigeria at 32.8%. Market workers in Nigeria lead sedentary life style and often depend on salt-laden fast food while at work. Method. An unselected population of market workers were screened for hypertension and its risk factors by a pretested, structured questionnaire, clinical examination, and laboratory investigation. Hypertension was defined as BP ≥ 140 and/or ≥ 90 mmHg or being on drug therapy. Results. Forty-two percent of the screened population were hypertensive. Of this number, 70.6% did not know they were hypertensive before the screening. More males than females (P = .022) were hypertensive. Prevalence of hypertension increased with age from 5.4% in the age group <20 years to 80% in the age group ≥70 years. Conclusion. The prevalence of hypertension in market workers in this study was 42%, and the majority of them were unaware of their disease.
Ulasi et al. (Sat,) conducted a cross-sectional in Hypertension. Screening for hypertension was evaluated on Prevalence of hypertension. Screening of market workers in Enugu, Nigeria revealed a 42% prevalence of hypertension, with 70.6% of affected individuals unaware of their disease.