Sedentary Lifestyle and Hypertension in a Periurban Area of Mbarara, South Western Uganda: A Population Based Cross Sectional Survey.

Introduction: Globally, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and diabetes constitute over 50% of the noncommunicable disease (NCD) burden and projections indicate Sub-Saharan Africa will experience a larger burden. Urbanization on the continent is contributing to the change in lifestyle such as diet and physical activity, which may increase the risk for CVDs. There is lack of sufficient data from the African continent on hypertension and its association with sedentary lifestyle.

Methods: We conducted a cross sectional study in periurban Uganda among adults aged at least 35 years. We administered questions on diet, physical activity, and smoking. We took anthropometric measurements, blood pressure, and fasting blood glucose. Hypertension was defined as systolic BP > = 140 and/or diastolic BP > = 90 and/or history of hypertension medications. Logistic regression was used to determine the crude and adjusted odds ratios for the factors associated with hypertension.

Results: We enrolled 310 participants and 50% were female. The prevalence of systolic hypertension was 24.5%, diastolic hypertension was 31%, obesity was 46%, and diabetes was 9%. Of those with hypertension ( n = 76), 53 participants (69.7%) were not aware they had high BP. Sedentary lifestyle was significantly associated with hypertension even after adjusting for age and obesity.

Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of obesity, hypertension, and diabetes and majority of participants with hypertension are not aware. Participants with a sedentary work style should be targeted for prevention and screening.