The Determinants of Undiagnosed Hypertension among Urban Community of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The prevalence of undiagnosed hypertension in Malaysia is 17.2%, which is higher compared to the known case of hypertension (13.1%) reported in 2015. For every two people diagnosed with hypertension, there will be three persons with undiagnosed hypertension; the trend has not changed since 2011. This study aimed to determine the determinants of undiagnosed hypertension among urban community of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

This was a cross-sectional study conducted among 206 participants in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from the ongoing Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) project. The samples with complete variable data were taken from the second year of follow-up, starting Jan 2014 till Dec 2015, through convenience sampling. Data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, simple logistic regression, and multivariable logistic regression.

Multivariable logistic regression showed that only four determinants were associated with undiagnosed hypertension which were the age group of 35 to 49 yr old (aOR: 5.9, 95% CI: 1.8; 19.1), secondary education level (aOR: 2.3, 95% CI: 1.1; 4.6), normal BMI (aOR: 5.1, 95% CI: 1.5; 16.6), and non-diabetes mellitus (aOR: 5.5, 95% CI: 2.5; 12.0).

The determinants of undiagnosed hypertension in this study showed that low-risk groups of hypertension were highly underdiagnosed. The low-risk group of hypertension was easily approached at their working place. Thus, routine health screening and awareness campaigns should be emphasized substantially at the working place to detect undiagnosed hypertension. Early detection will be beneficial as early management can be initiated to prevent further complications.