Hypertension prevalence, associated factors, treatment, and control in rural Cameroon: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Introduction: Sub-Saharan Africa is experiencing a surge in the burden of hypertension, and rural communities seem to be increasingly affected by the epidemic. Objectives: We aimed to determine the prevalence of hypertension, its associated factors, as well as its awareness, treatment, and control rates in rural communities of the Baham Health District (BHD), Cameroon.Design: A community-based cross-sectional study.Setting: Participants from five health areas in the BHD were recruited from August to October 2018.Participants: Consenting participants aged 18 years or older were included. Results: We included 526 participants in this study. The median age of the participants was 53.0 (IQR = 35 – 65) years and 67.1% were female. The prevalence of hypertension was 40.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 36.7 – 45.1) were hypertensive with no gender disparity. The overall age-standardised prevalence of hypertension was 23.9% (95% CI = 20.3 – 27.5). Five-year increase in age (adjusted odd’s ratio [AOR] = 1.34; 95% CI = 1.23 – 1.44), family history of hypertension (AOR = 2.22; 95% CI = 1.37 – 3.60), and obesity were associated with higher odds of hypertension (AOR = 2.57; 95% CI = 1.40 – 4.69).The rates of awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension were 37.2% (95% CI = 31.0 – 43.9), 20.9% (95% CI = 16.0 – 26.9), and 22.2% (95% CI = 15.2 – 46.5), respectively.Conclusion: The high hypertension prevalence in this rural community is associated with contrastingly low awareness, treatment, and control rates. Age, family history of hypertension, and obesity are the major drivers of hypertension in this community. Veracious policies are needed to improve awareness, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and control of hypertension in this rural community.