Key Points
- To assess the prevalence and determinant factors of elevated blood pressure, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemias, and metabolic syndrome in Ethiopia.
- Conducted a nationwide community-based survey using the WHO NCD STEPS instrument (version 3.1) from April to June 2015 across 9 regions in Ethiopia.
- Used multistage stratified systemic random sampling to enroll 10,260 individuals aged 15–69 years, completing blood pressure measurements in 9,788 and metabolic screening in 9,141 participants.
- The prevalence was 15.8% for raised blood pressure (16.3% females, 15.5% males), 3.2% for diabetes mellitus, 21.0% for hypertriglyceridemia, 68.7% for low HDL cholesterol, and 4.8% for metabolic syndrome (8.6% females vs. 1.8% males).
- Advanced age, urban residence, physical inactivity, obesity, and elevated waist-to-hip ratio were significantly associated with raised blood pressure and diabetes, with waist-to-hip ratio serving as an independent predictor of hypertension, hyperglycemia, and elevated cholesterol.
Structured PICO
PPopulation10,260 people aged 15-69 years from 9 regions of Ethiopia
OOutcomePrevalence of high blood pressure, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, and metabolic syndromesurrogate
There is a significantly high prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors such as raised blood pressure, hyperglycemia, and dyslipidemia in Ethiopia, which are strongly associated with advanced age, urban residence, and obesity.