TITLE:
Screening for Hypertension in People Aged 50 Years and Older in Byumba Sector: A Community-Based Approach
AUTHORS:
Marie Louise Umwangange
KEYWORDS:
Screening, Hypertension, Old People, Byumba
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.3 No.12,
December
14,
2016
ABSTRACT: Background: Hypertension is taken as a global public health crisis and it is named as a “silent killer” since it is mostly asymptomatic with many life threatening complications such as stroke, coronary artery disease, heart attack… Hypertension as the cause of morbidity and mortality in older adults, it is one of the conditions that could be mostly prevented and treated. In developing countries, most people with raised blood pressure are unaware of their condition. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to detect high blood pressure in people aged 50 years and older who are not diagnosed for hypertension before, and approximate the prevalence of hypertension in older adults who are apparently healthy and determine if there is age and gender differences for people who have high blood pressure after screening. Methods: The study design was quantitative analytical cross-sectional study, and the sample of 149 people aged 50 years and older was obtained using convenient sampling method including 116 women and 33 men. A sphygmomanometer and a stethoscope for auscultatory method was used to measure blood pressure in the community. Results: The results showed that among 149 screened people, 38.3% (= 57) had hypertension. 40.5% of women were newly diagnosed with high blood pressure during screening, and 30.3% of men were newly diagnosed with high blood pressure. However, the difference between women and men in terms of the prevalence of newly diagnosed hypertension is not statistically significant [CI: 95% X2 (1, N = 149) = 1.13, p = 0.28]. The Pearson Chi square test shows no statistical significance in difference of high blood pressure among different age groups X2 (2, N = 149) = 1.12, p = 0.57. Conclusion: More than one third of the screened people aged fifty years and older were found hypertensive and they were not aware of the disease before screening. The early detection of hypertension through community screening is very important because it raises people’s awareness of their blood pressure and be able to seek care as soon as possible before the complications occur.