Magnitude and determinants of uncontrolled blood pressure among hypertensive patients in Ethiopia: hospital-based observational study

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is an important public health problem worldwide. There is lack of data on uncontrolled blood pressure in developing countries. OBJECTIVES: To determine the magnitude and predicting factors of uncontrolled blood pressure in hypertensive patients attending Gondar university hospital, Ethiopia. METHODS: A hospital-based cross-sectional survey was conducted from July 2015 to March 2016. All hypertensive patients were followed and the blood pressure levels were measured. Binary logistic regression analysis was done to determine the predictors of uncontrolled blood pressure. A p-value of <0.05 was set at priori with 95% confidence interval to test the level of significance. RESULTS: Of the total 578 hypertension patients, 543 (93.9%) fulfilled the study criteria and were included in the final analysis. The mean age of the participants was 55.96±14.6 years. Nearly two-third (58.2%) of the participants were females. More than one-tenth (11.4%) of the respondents had uncontrolled blood pressure. High salt intake carried six times more risk of uncontrolled blood pressure. Elderly individuals had lower risk as compared to young age group. However, comorbidities were not related with uncontrolled blood pressure. CONCLUSIONS: Blood pressure control was relatively high in the hospital studied. High salt intake was strongly linked with uncontrolled blood pressure. Individuals with high salt intake should be followed for their medication experience and disease knowledge.