Publication: Exploring the iceberg of hypertension: A community based study in an eastern Nepal town
Date
2007
Authors
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Publisher
Kathmandu University
Abstract
Objectives: Hypertension is an important public health challenge in the developing and the developed world alike.
However, community-based studies on cardiovascular diseases including hypertension in a developing country like
Nepal have been limited. The primary aim of this study is to measure the prevalence of hypertension in the Dharan
town of Eastern Nepal and to explore the ‘iceberg phenomenon’ of hypertension in the study population.
Methods: A population-based cross-sectional analytical study was undertaken in the Dharan municipality in 2004-5
with one thousand males aged 35 years and above as participants. The subjects were recruited by simple random
sampling of the households in each ward.
Results: The overall prevalence of hypertension in the study population was 22.7% which was comparable to the
studies from Northern and Western India. The comparison between the population with normal and high blood
pressure at time of study shows significant differences in terms of age, religion, current job status, occupation, socio-
economic status, physical activity and tobacco use.
Conclusion: The study shows that while a vast majority of the hypertensive population was not aware of their high
blood pressure status, at the same time, a large fraction of the population with increased blood pressure did not have
their blood pressure under control. A surveillance system to detect population with high blood pressure, follow up
the detected cases of hypertension, as well as motivate and/or counsel the ‘hard-to-treat’ cases for regular follow-up
should be valuable.
Key words: hypertension, community-based, iceberg, Eastern Nepal
Description
Vaidya A 1 , Pokharel PK2, Karki P3, Nagesh S 4
1 Lecturer, Department of Community Medicine, Kathmandu Medical College Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal 2Additional Professor, Department of Community Medicine, 3Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, 4Professor, Department of Community Medicine, B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan, Nepal