Abstract
Hypertension is an important health problem in India. The emergence of hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases are strongly related to various risk factors. Knowledge about hypertension and related risk factors is often stressed on their utility in prevention and management of the disease. Still, there is a poor understanding about associated behavioural risk factors of hypertension and importance of knowledge in adopting health-promoting behaviours and controlling hypertension among rural areas of India. This study aimed at assessing the association of behavioural risk factors with hypertension knowledge and hypertension among rural population. The present study focused on a south-western state of India from which a taluk with one of the lowest socioeconomic ratings was selected. A total of 263 participants were selected by using a multistage random sampling technique. Data were collected by in-person interview using behavioural risk factors questionnaire, hypertension knowledge questionnaire, and physical measurement. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, chi square, Pearson correlation and binary logistic regression. Findings revealed that there is no significant relationship between risk factors index and knowledge of hypertension. It was also observed that factors such as smoking (OR = 0.29; CI: 090–0.961), fruit and vegetable consumption (OR = 1.32; CI: 1.01–1.74), body mass index (OR = 1.85; CI: 1.21–2.84), and age group (OR = 1.55; CI: 1.14–2.11) were significantly associated with the odds of hypertension. The factors such as smokeless tobacco use, alcohol consumption, physical activity, gender, education, and occupation were not associated with the odds of hypertension. Future research should focus on bringing down the associated risk factors to prevent and control hypertension.
Highlights
India, a lower middle income country with a population of more than 1 billion, is undergoing a rapid epidemiologic transition characterized by an increased prevalence of noncommunicable diseases
It is estimated to account for 10.8% of all deaths and 4.6% of all disability-adjusted life years in India [3]. e emergence of hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases are strongly related to various risk factors such as aging of the populations, family history, socioeconomic changes that favor sedentary lifestyle, obesity, smoking, alcohol consumption, unhealthy dietary habits and stress. e prevalence of hypertension was higher among smokers (41.3%) as compared to nonsmokers (25.4%) and among obese (58%) compared to overweight (37.1%) and normal (25.3%) in a study conducted in Uttarakhand, India [4]. e cause of uncontrolled hypertension is multifactorial [5]
By considering increment of hypertension in rural areas [18], the importance of modifiable behavioural risk factors and hypertension knowledge in the prevalence and control of hypertension, the present study aimed to examine these constructs among rural India communities
Summary
A lower middle income country with a population of more than 1 billion (rural population 68.84%), is undergoing a rapid epidemiologic transition characterized by an increased prevalence of noncommunicable diseases. E emergence of hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases are strongly related to various risk factors such as aging of the populations, family history, socioeconomic changes that favor sedentary lifestyle, obesity, smoking, alcohol consumption, unhealthy dietary habits and stress. Ganesh et al [9] found that factors such as being older, currently using alcohol, having less than 7 servings of fruits in a week, a moderate stress level and waist circumference more than 90 cm were associated with a higher prevalence rate of hypertension among a sample of male police personnel residing in urban Puducherry, India. Kokiwar et al [11] found that while factors such as upper social class, sedentary physical activity, tobacco use, and diabetes had a significant association with hypertension, alcohol intake was not related to hypertension among rural communities of central India
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