Key result
Rural residence linked to ~22 percentage points higher prevalence of elevated BP versus urban living.
Why the study?
Rising cardiovascular disease prevalence has hitherto been attributed to urbanization and lifestyle westernization, motivating a comparison of cardiovascular risk factors, lifestyles, and socioeconomic status between urban and rural dwellers in Lagos State, Nigeria.
Cross-Sectional (n=342)
Yes
Certain cardiovascular disease risk factors, such as elevated measured blood pressure, are more prevalent in rural than urban regions of Lagos State, Nigeria, highlighting an urgent need for targeted education, intervention, and healthcare access in rural communities.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Higher rural prevalence of elevated blood pressure and antihypertensive use; hypothesis-generating for Nigerian disparities, needs prospective confirmation.
Background: Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide, and the prevalence is increasing at an alarming rate. Hitherto, urbanization and westernization of lifestyle have been attributed to the rising prevalence. This study, therefore, seeks to compare the cardiovascular risk factors, lifestyles and socioeconomic status of both urban and rural dwellers in Lagos State, Nigeria. Methods: During the World Heart Day (WHD) campaigns of 2019 and 2022, we recruited participants from rural (Agbowa) and urban (Oshodi) centres in Lagos State and compared their risk factors using the World Health Organization (WHO) STEPS questionnaire. Results: The prevalence of self-reported hypertension in the rural and urban communities was 36.6% and 23.7% (p=0.49) respectively; the measured blood pressure were also higher in the rural dwellers(p<0.000). The prevalence of diabetes and the rates of physical activity were similar in both communities. There was a higher mean BMI in urban than rural areas: 28.16kg/m2 vs 26.89kg/m2 p=0.471), however the rate of obesity was higher in the rural than urban area (28%vs25.7%; p=0.644) while adherence to antihypertension medication was 72.3% in Agbowa compared to 15.9% in Oshodi (p=0.000). The highest rates of hypertension were found in the low socioeconomic class while the middle socio-economic class had the highest rate of obesity. The Agbowa participants had a statistically higher prevalence of healthy lifestyle(p=0.000). Conclusion: Some Cardiovascular disease risk factors are more prevalent in some rural than urban regions of Lagos state, and there is an urgent need for better education, intervention and greater access to health care.
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Daniel et al. (2026) conducted a cross-sectional in Cardiovascular disease risk factors (hypertension, obesity, diabetes) (n=342). Rural residence (Agbowa) vs. Urban residence (Oshodi) was evaluated on Prevalence of high blood pressure reading (≥140/90 mmHg) at screening (p=0.000). Rural dwellers in Agbowa had a higher prevalence of elevated blood pressure and antihypertensive use than urban dwellers in Oshodi.
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