Prevalence and Associated Factors of High Blood Pressure in Urban Setting of Kandahar City in Afghanistan in 2015

Hypertension is an important public health problem, which is prevalent and asymptomatic, with modifiable and preventable risk factors. Afghanistan is suffering from double burden of diseases including communicable and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). The present study aimed at identifying hypertension and determining its factors among the adult population in city of Kandahar in Afghanistan.
This cross- sectional study was conducted using WHO STEPwise tool, a WHO standardized tool for risk factors of (NCDs) in urban locality, in city of Kandahar during October and November 2015. The study used a random sample of 1165 adults aged 25 to 70 years. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire for assessing noncommunicable diseases and their risk factors. Fasting venous blood samples were collected to assess the lipid profile and fasting blood sugar. Anthropometric measurements of the participants were also taken. Data were analyzed using SPSS Version 20.
Out of all respondents, 597 (51.2%) were females and 568 (48.8%) were males, with a mean age of 38.3 ± 11.2 years. Around two thirds of the participants (73.2%) were illiterate, 9.7% smokers, and 16.3% mouth snuff users. Of the respondents, 60% consumed fruits 3 days or less than a week and 60% consumed vegetables more than 3 days per week. Moreover, almost 6% of the respondents practiced vigorous physical activity and 21.3% reported doing moderate physical activity, and one third (32.2%) of the respondents had high blood pressure. The results of multivariate analysis revealed that the independent risk factors associated with hypertension were age, gender, education status, high body mass index, central obesity, and physical inactivity with respect to reclining hours per day.
One third of the adult population in the urban setting of Kandahar is suffering from hypertension. Thus, it is highly recommended to focus on interventions to prevent and control noncommunicable diseases.