Prevalence and socio-demographic factors associated with hypertension among rural and urban population of Kisii County, Kenya

Background: Hypertension (HTN) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. 9.4 out of the 20 million cardiovascular deaths are due to HTN. HTN has often been described to be more prevalent in urban areas. However, there has been an epidemiologic transition from urban to rural areas which often go unreported or underreported. This gap therefore called for a study to compare the prevalence of HTN burden and assess how socio-demographic factors contribute to HTN development among the rural and urban population.Methods: This study methodology focused on HTN among residents aged 30-69 years, from urban and rural population of Nyaribari Chache sub county, Kisii County, Kenya using a descriptive cross sectional study in which 490 respondents were interviewed. Sampling involved a random sampling technique which entailed household selection. Data was analysed using statistical package for social scientists (SPSS) version 21.Results: The prevalence of HTN for the sampled population was 44.668%. The prevalence of HTN was 44.134% in rural and 43.598% in urban areas. Rural population were more at risk of developing HTN than urban (OR=1.135 and RR=1.072). On general health, those who had ever been told that they had hypertension (p<0.000), ever been told that they had hypertension for the past 12 months (p=0.000) and those who were currently taking hypertension medication (p=0.026) were statistically significant variables.Conclusions: The study concludes that residents in rural population have higher prevalence of hypertension. Further, female respondents, those who are currently married, completed primary school education and were self-employed reported to have a higher prevalence of hypertension.