BLOOD PRESSURE PATTERN OF ADULTS IN A RURAL COMMUNITY OF KONDUGA, BORNO STATE, NIGERIA

Background:Hypertension is a common non communicable disease that is associated with a lot of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Different lifestyles and anthropometric indices have been linked with increased risk of hypertension in different parts of the world. The motivation for this study was to determine the blood pressure pattern in adults of predominantly Kanuri ethnicity in a Konduga community. Methodology:This is a cross sectional descriptive study in which Residents of Konduga town was sampled for the study aimed at detecting hypertension using a multistage/cluster sampling methods. All of the consenting adults aged 18 years and above who presented at the designated sites of the examinations constituted the study population. Those that were less than 18 years old were excluded from the study. The instrument was a self-administered questionnaire that had questions on their demographic characteristics. Physical measurements of blood pressures were recorded for each of the participants. Data generated were analyzed using SPSS version 16 software and tests of significance at p < 0.05 were done. Results:Three hundred and thirty-two adults who were made up of males (179 (53.9%) and females (153 (46.1%) participated in the study. The ages of the participants ranged from 18 to 74 years with a mean age of 33.9 + 12.7 years. The study group had a mean body weight of 68.5 + 15.1kg, mean height of 1.65 + 13.1meter, and mean body mass index of 25.7kg/m2. Hypertension was detected in 74 (22.2%) individuals with males having a higher percentage. The study group had a mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure of 127 + 20.1 mmHg and 83.1+ 12.8 mmHg respectively, while prehypertension was detected in 121(36.5%) Conclusion:Hypertension was highly prevalent among the adults in Konduga community of predominantly Kanuri ethnic group. Recommendations:Preventive measures such as the maintenance of normal body mass index by calorie restriction should be encouraged. Dietary salt restriction in the general population should be encouraged. Health education efforts that emphasize the reduction of the risk factors of hypertension should be implemented.