Prevalence, Awareness, Treatment, Control, and Related Factors of Hypertension among Tajik Nomads Living in Pamirs at High Altitude

Lin Wang; Nanfang Li; Mulalibieke Heizhati; Suofeiya Abulikemu; Delian Zhang; Qin Luo; Ling Zhou; Jing Hong; Junli Hu; Li Cai; Xin Zhao; Le Sun; Liang Shao

doi:10.1155/2020/5406485

Prevalence, Awareness, Treatment, Control, and Related Factors of Hypertension among Tajik Nomads Living in Pamirs at High Altitude

Int J Hypertens. 2020 Jul 14:2020:5406485. doi: 10.1155/2020/5406485. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Lin Wang^{1

2}, Nanfang Li¹, Mulalibieke Heizhati¹, Suofeiya Abulikemu¹, Delian Zhang¹, Qin Luo¹, Ling Zhou¹, Jing Hong¹, Junli Hu¹, Li Cai¹, Xin Zhao¹, Le Sun¹, Liang Shao¹

Affiliations

¹ Hypertension Center of People's Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Xinjiang Hypertension Institute;National Health Committee Key Laboratory of Hypertension Clinical Research Urumqi, No. 91 Tianchi Road, Urumqi 830001, Xinjiang, China.
² Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China.

Abstract

Background: Hypertension is a global problem, for which high-altitude residents exhibit higher burden. Hypertension in Tajik nomads from Pamirs with an average altitude above 4000 m remains less studied. We aimed to determine the prevalence, awareness, treatment, control, and risk factors associated with hypertension among Tajik population in Pamirs.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted between August and September 2015 using stratified three-stage random sampling in Taxkorgan county, Pamirs, China. Hypertension is defined as mean systolic and/or diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP) ≥140/90 mmHg and/or taking antihypertensive medication within the past two weeks. The prevalence (SBP ≥130 or DBP ≥80 mmHg) was also estimated using the 2017 American College of Cardiology (ACC)/American Heart Association (AHA) High Blood Pressure Guideline. The awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension and associated factors were evaluated.

Results: Totally, 797 subjects aged ≥18 years were enrolled with 46.3% men and 88.8% nomads with the mean age of 42.3 ± 15.2 years. The prevalence of hypertension was 24.2% (140/90 mmHg), and the prevalence was as high as 40.3%, based on the 2017 ACC/AHA guideline. Overall awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension were 52.8%, 40.9%, and 9.3%, respectively. In multivariate logistic regression, BMI ≥24.0 kg/m² (OR: 2.41, 95% CI: 1.44-4.04) was a risk factor for prehypertension, and age ≥60 years (OR: 2.04, 95% CI: 1.15-3.61), BMI ≥24.0 kg/m² (OR: 2.04, 95% CI: 1.15-3.61), and abdominal obesity (OR: 1.87, 95% CI: 1.09-3.22) were risk factors for hypertension. Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers were the most commonly used antihypertensive medication (45.4%) as monotherapy, and 13.6% of treated hypertensive patients used two drugs.

Conclusions: There is a considerable prevalence of hypertension with low awareness, treatment, and control rates among Tajik nomads in Pamirs, where health programs improving the hypertension status are urgently needed, with the excess weight loss as a strategy.