Abstract
BackgroundHypertension is one of the leading causes of cardiovascular morbidities in Ghana and represents a major public health concern. There is dearth of information on the rural-urban disparity in hypertension among women in Ghana. Therefore, this study aimed at examining the rural-urban variation in hypertension among women in Ghana.MethodsWe extracted data from the women’s file of the 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey. The sample included 9333 women aged 15–49 with complete data on hypertension. The analysis was done using Pearson Chi-square and binary logistic regression at 95% confidence interval. The results of the binary logistic regression were presented as Odds Ratios (ORs) and Adjusted Odds Ratios (AORs). Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.ResultsHypertension prevalence among urban and rural residents were 9.5% and 5.1% respectively. Rural women had lower odds of hypertension [OR = 0.59; 95% CI = 0.52, 0.67] compared to urban women, however, this was insignificant in the adjusted model [aOR = 0.84; 95% CI = 0.70, 1.00]. The propensity to be hypertensive was lower for women aged 15–19 [aOR = 0.07; 95% CI = 0.05, 0.11]. The poorest were less likely to be hypertensive [aOR = 0.63; 95% CI = 0.45, 0.89]. Single women were also less probable to have hypertension [aOR = 0.66; 95% CI = 0.46, 0.97].ConclusionsWomen from urban and rural areas shed similar chance to be hypertensive in Ghana. Therefore, the health sector needs to target women from both areas of residence (rural/urban) when designing their programmes that are intended to modify women’s lifestyle in order to reduce their risks of hypertension. Other categories of women that need to be prioritised to avert hypertension are those who are heading towards the end of their reproductive age, richest women and the divorced.
Highlights
Hypertension is one of the leading causes of cardiovascular morbidities in Ghana and represents a major public health concern
Hypertension prevalence The findings indicate that 14.6% of the participants had hypertension nationwide
9.5% emerged from urban locations whilst the remaining 5.1% occurred among women in rural residential areas of Ghana
Summary
Hypertension is one of the leading causes of cardiovascular morbidities in Ghana and represents a major public health concern. This study aimed at examining the rural-urban variation in hypertension among women in Ghana. Hypertension is one of the leading causes of cardiovascular morbidity, mortality and chronic kidney diseases and represents a serious public health challenge [1]. It accounts for 33% of global preventable premature deaths and disability [2]. It is projected that 17.4 million people will have hypertension, due to increase in population between 2015 and 2030 [7], if the necessary functional and effective preventive measures are not put in place to cater for this major health challenge in the lowand-middle-income countries [2]. In rural and urban areas of Ghana, the prevalence of hypertension ranges between 19% and 48% respectively with some studies reporting 24% or higher in rural areas [2]
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