Prevalence and control of hypertension

comparison between urban and rural population

Abstract

Background: Hypertension is considered a public health problem due to its high prevalence and control difficulties. Objectives: To estimate the
prevalence of hypertension and evaluate the main characteristics associated with failure to control blood pressure comparing rural with the urban
population. Materials and Methods: An epidemiological study of 1528 adult residents of the city of Sacramento/Minas Gerais/Brazil. Were collected
during home visits, socioeconomic and behavioral variables, the following characteristics of drug treatment, difficulties in using the health and
achievement of blood pressure measurement services. To analyze the association between the dependent variable (not blood pressure control)
and other variables we used the chi-square test of Pearson and the Odds Ratio. The level of significance was set at α = 0.05, Results: 153 subjects
residing in rural areas and 1375 in urban area were interviewed. The prevalence of hypertension in the city was 38.6% and 38.6% in urban areas
and 38.5 % in rural areas. Among hypertensive patients (n = 590), 91.5% were aware of this condition; 90.6% were under treatment, and 52.6 % had
controlled blood pressure. The variables that were associated with the non-control BP were: alcohol consumption (p = 0.001), difficulty in following
the prescriptions (p = 0.000), failure to attend medical appointments (p = 0.005). Conclusions: Hypertension proved to be highly prevalent and
important public health as well in a small city from the countryside.