Prevalence and associated factors of pre‐hypertension and hypertension in Nepal: Analysis of the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2016

OBJECTIVES: Hypertension is the leading risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and develops faster among pre‐hypertensive individuals. However, there is a lack of nationally representative studies that investigate the prevalence and determinants of these two conditions in many developing countries, including Nepal. This study investigates the prevalence and determinants of pre‐hypertension and hypertension in Nepal. METHODS: The present cross‐sectional analysis used data from the 2016 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey, collected from June 2016 to January 2017. After calculating the weighted prevalence (with 95% confidence interval [CI]), simple and multivariable analyses were performed to estimate odds ratios. RESULTS: A total of 14 857 individuals (6247 males and 8610 females) aged ≥15 years who had their blood pressure measured during the survey were included in this study. The prevalence for pre‐hypertension and hypertension were 26.0% (95% CI: 25.3‐26.3, n = 3856) and 19.5% (95% CI: 18.8‐20.2, n = 2899), respectively. The prevalence of both conditions was greater among males. In multivariable analyses, older age, male sex, higher body mass index, and residents of Provinces 4 and 5 had significantly increased odds of pre‐hypertension and hypertension (P < .05). Additionally, higher education level was found to be positively associated with hypertension. CONCLUSIONS: The combined higher prevalence of pre‐hypertension and hypertension indicates that nearly half (45.5%) of the respondents are at a greater risk of cardiovascular and other non‐communicable diseases due to these two conditions. Older people, males, obese people, and individuals living in Provinces 4 and 5 require more awareness to control blood pressure levels.