Prevalence and correlates of hypertension-outcome of a free medical screening in Oke-Ogun area of Oyo state, Nigeria, West Africa

Abstract Background Literature abounds on prevalence of hypertension in Nigeria and urban areas of Oyo state but none in Oke-Ogun geo-political zone which constitutes 10 local governments out of the 33 in Oyo state, despite the fact that they have high genetic and environmental predisposition to developing high blood pressure. Objectives The purpose of the study was to determine the prevalence of high blood pressure and associated risk factors among indigenes of Oke-ogun, Oyo state. Method A total of 10,000 respondents were recruited using proportionate sampling techniques. Hypertension was defined according to JNC-8 criteria. The fasting plasma glucose of the respondents were classified as normal (≤6 mmol/L), pre-diabetes (6.1–6.9 mmol/L), and diabetes (≥7 mmol/L). Body mass index was calculated as weight (kg)/height (m 2 ) and classified as malnutrition/underweight ( P Results The mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure was 138 ± 27.81, 86.13 ± 14.39 respectively. The overall prevalence of hypertension was 38.5%. 64.1% were diabetics. 63.4% had no formal education. Majority (82.95%) earned less than N18,000 ($59) per month. 43.3% had family history of hypertension. Conclusion There is high prevalence of hypertension among the people of Oke-ogun, in Oyo state. Their low socio-economic status, low educational background, malnutrition and genetic predisposition were identified risk factors.