Uncontrolled hypertension among hypertensive patients in public hospitals at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: In both high- and low-income nations, uncontrolled hypertension poses a serious threat to public health for those who suffer from it. After it starts, hypertension needs to be controlled throughout the remainder of the person's life. Both drug and non-drug treatments are effective in preventing and managing hypertension. In Addis Ababa, little research was done on hypertensive individuals who had uncontrolled hypertension. METHODS: An institution based cross-sectional study was conducted at three public hospitals in Addis Ababa. A simple random sampling technique was used to choose the research participants. To assess factors associated with uncontrolled hypertension a binary logistic regression analysis was performed. RESULT: A total of 621 study participants with a response rate of 98.2% were included in this study. The study revealed that the magnitude of uncontrolled hypertension was 48%. The factors significantly associated with uncontrolled hypertension were duration of illness (AOR = 1.72, 95% CI= (1.01-2.96)), sex (AOR = 1.80, 95% CI= (1.20-2.70)), physical activity adherence (AOR = 2.48, 95% CI= (1.39-4.41)), occupational status (AOR = 0.38, 95% CI= (0.22-0.68)) and educational status (AOR = 2.45, 95% CI= (1.37-4.39)). CONCLUSION: Uncontrolled hypertension was seen in almost half of the study participants. Variables that were substantially associated with uncontrolled hypertension were sex, educational attainment, employment position, length of illness, and physical activity adherence. Healthcare providers should encourage patients to exercise frequently and make sure they take their hypertension medicines as directed.