Publication:

Prevalence of hypertension among the rural population of Mehsana district of North Gujarat region, India

Background High blood pressure is considered both a disease and a risk factor, especially for cardiovascular diseases, and is one of the most serious public health problems. To find out the prevalence of hypertension among the rural population of Mehsana district of North Gujarat region, India.

Methods This was cross sectional study and conducted in rural areas of Mehsana district of Gujarat during January 2019 to June 2019. People living rural areas were selected by stratified random sampling. They were screened for hypertension by JNC VII criteria using sphygmomanometer after written and informed consent. Data was entered in Microsoft excel and analysis was done using statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) statistical package.

Results Out of total 602, majority 293 (48.7%) subjects had normal blood pressure with mean age of 25.28±16.62 years, 271 subjects (45.0%) had pre hypertension with mean age of 40.30±14.32 years. Out of total, 25 (4.2%) subjects had hypertension stage 1 with mean age of 45.82±11.48 years and 13 (2.2%) subjects had hypertension stage 2 with mean age of 53.77±16.02 years. Out of total 271 subjects who had pre hypertension, 150 (55.3%) were males. Hypertension stage 1 and 2 were almost equally distributed among both gender. A blood pressure category and gender difference was statically significant. Out of total 38 hypertensive subjects, 19 (50%) subjects were in the age group of 40-59 years.

Conclusions Prevalence of hypertension among rural population was 6.4%.