Prevalence of Hypertension in school teachers of Bengaluru

Abstract

BACKGROUND The burden of hypertension is rapidly rising in India and if uncontrolled can lead to greater complications and mortality. Apart from the lifestyle factors it is important to explore the workplace stressors in the aetiology of hypertension.METHODS In order to understand the association of hypertension and stress in teachers of urban areas of India data was collected from 401 school teachers. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information on job stress and other risk factors. Data was collected from 123 schools using a validated questionnaire. Blood Pressure of respondents was measured using a modified approach of Peters Schnall and Karen Bettoic and classified as per the recommendations of the Joint National Commission UNG-VII.RESULTS Among the 401 schools teachers 28 had normal blood pressure 36 were pre hypertensive 24 were - 1 stage hypertensive and 12 in stage-II hypertension. Among the other results one fifth of the teachers whose parentssiblings had hypertension had normal BP and more than one third of teachers whose parents did not have hypertension had normal BP 35. The unadjusted estimates indicate that emotional and work profile stressors were associated with hypertension. However this effect disappeared after adjusting the confounders.CONCLUSION There is high prevalence of hypertension among public school teachers of Bengaluru. Creating awareness among BBMP school teachers regarding lifestyle modifications and regular screening of blood pressure is crucial.