Prevalence and awareness of Hypertension among urban and rural Adults in Hohoe Municipality, Ghana

Background: Hypertension is increasingly becoming an important public health issue among adults worldwide. This study determined the prevalence of hypertension among urban and rural adults in Hohoe Municipality. Method: A population-based cross-sectional study involving 350 adults from urban 162 (46.3%) and rural 188(53.7%) settings. Face-to-face interview using pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect data. Blood pressure (BP) and anthropometric measurements were done following standard procedures. Differences in means were determined using t-test.Chisquare test and logistic regression model were used to determine theassociation between independent variables and hypertension. Pearson product moment correlation coefficient was used to measure the strength and direction of the relationship between blood pressure and some variables. Results: The prevalence of hypertension at the time of the survey was 89 (25.4%), with 38 (23.5%) from urban and 51 (27.1%) from rural areas(p=0.432). Uncontrolled hypertension was higher among rural adults than urban (53.2% vs. 37.2%, p=0.098). Undiagnosed hypertension was highbut similar in both urban (18.5%) and rural (18.4%) settings. Adults aged 40-49, 50-59 and 60 years and above were 3.96, 5.49 and 4.54 times more likely to have hypertension (AOR=3.96, p<0.001), (AOR=5.49, p<0.001) and (AOR=4.54, p<0.001) respectively. Those with tertiary education were 69% less likely to have hypertension (AOR= 0.31, p=0.048). Obese adults were 3.42 time more likely to have hypertension (AOR=3.42, p=0.012). Age and BMI were positively correlated with hypertension (r=0.34, p<0.001) and (r=0.28, p<0.001). Conclusion: There is increasing theprevalence of hypertensionamong rural than urban adults due to higher uncontrolled and undiagnosed hypertension among rural adults.Increasing age and obesity are the main contributing factors to hypertension. Periodic screening and creation of awareness could enhance the prevention and control of HPT among rural adults inHohoe Municipality.