Prevalence of Hypertension and Its Socio-Demographic Factors Among Adult Population in a Rural Community of Kanti Block, Muzaffarpur

Hypertension is a major contributor to the cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in industrialized countries. The recent reports suggest that hypertension is rapidly increasing in developing countries like India. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading causes of death globally and also the leading cause of adult mortality and morbidity worldwide now days. The NCD like hypertension is emerging as a major health problem in India with increasing prevalence signicantly in both urban and rural population. The objectives of the study were to nd out the prevalence of hypertension and its association with socio-demographic factors among the study subjects, if any. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in rural communities of Kanti block, Muzaffarpur, Bihar from May, 2020 to April, 2021. We studied among 671 individuals, aged 21 years or above of both sexes except pregnant and seriously ill subjects. The data were collected about education, type of family, family history of hypertension, income etc. The overall prevalence of hypertension was 25.7% (male 21.7% and female 29.8%). Prevalence increased with increase in age group. Muslim religion, less education and sedentary life styles were found to be signicantly associated with hypertension; while socio-economic status had no association with hypertension. Summary: The prevalence of hypertension in the rural population was found to be on the higher side compared to previous reports from India. Strong public health measures need to be seriously implemented to combat hypertension and its consequences.