MAY MEASUREMENT MONTH: DATA FROM A NATIONAL SCREENING PROGRAMME IN OMAN IN 2017 AND 2018

Abstract

Objective: Hypertension is a major cardiovascular risk factor yet many patients remain undiagnosed. The aim of the May Measurement Month (MMM) screening programme was to identify individuals with undiagnosed hypertension. Design and method: This study was part of a global screening programme with screening centers set up in various hospitals and public areas in Muscat, Oman during the months of May 2017 and 2018. Screening was done according to the MMM protocol with three blood pressure (BP) readings taken along with a questionnaire of demographic, lifestyle and other risk factors. Hypertension was defined according to the European Society of Hypertension 2018 guidelines,(systolic BP(SBP) greater than140mmHg and/or diastolic BP(DBP) greater than 90mmHg) Results: A total of 13,621 individuals (age 40.8 + 12.6 years, 30.1 % male, 88.4% arab ethincity) were screened over the two month period. The mean of the first BP was 132.1 + 19.1/ 81.1 + 12.2 mmHg. The average of the second and third readings, where available (n = 5,934, age 41.5 + 14.3 years, 64.4% male) was 128.5 + 17.7/79.1 + 11.1 mmHg. This was significantly lower than the first BP reading alone (p < 0.001 for both SBP and DBP). Women were more likely to have only one reading. Further analysis was done only where three BP readings were available. In those with 3 BP readings, 1438 individuals (of which 471 were on antihypertensive medication) had BP in the hypertensive range. This works out to 47.7% of patients on medications(n = 988) having uncontrolled BP. The remaining 967 were newly diagnosed hypertensive. The number of hypertensives in our sample therefore was 1,955, giving a proportion of 32.9% of hypertensive individuals (of those with three BP readings) in our sample. Pregnant women had significantly lower BP than non pregnant women. By binary logistic regression, the factors predicting BP in the hypertensive range were age, sex, previous stroke, but not diabetes, previous MI or ethnicity Conclusions: In Oman, the proportion of individuals having hypertension is comparable to previous estimates and surveys. A high proportion of individuals on treatment still have uncontrolled BP. More needs to be done to educate the public regarding the need for better BP control.