PREVALENCE OF HYPERTENSION AND SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF ADULT HYPERTENSIVES IN RIYADH CITY, SAUDI-ARABIA

Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of hypertension in adults resid ing in Riyadh city and to study the sociodemographic characteristics o f adult hypertensives. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Setting: Primar y Health Care Centres (PHCCs) in Riyadh city selected by stratified ra ndom sampling, the subjects resident in each PHCC catchment area were selected by systematic sampling from their records in the PHCCs. Subje cts and methods: A total of 1394 adults aged 15 years and over were in terviewed and examined during March 1993 to March 1994. The average of three measurements of blood pressure (BP) was taken to represent thei r current pressures. A subject is considered hypertensive if the avera ge BP reading is 160/95 mm Hg or more, or is currently under treatment . Results: The total hypertensive subjects were 214 giving an overall prevalence of hypertension of 15.4%. Of these 157 (11.3%) subjects wer e known hypertensives and were under some form of treatment. On the ot her hand 57 (4.1%) other subjects were newly detected by the study. Hy pertension (BP = 160/95 mm Hg or more) was significantly related to ag e, marriage, education, occupation and employment status and consangui nity. Male subjects had a higher prevalence of hypertension but the di fferences were not significant. Nationality and income were not relate d to high BP. Conclusion: Hypertension is a problem among adults in Ri yadh city. It is significantly related to some sociodemographic and fa mily factors. About 27% of all hypertensives are not aware of their di sease and more than 31% of known hypertensives are apparently not well controlled. There is a need for a programme to prevent and control hy pertension in Riyadh city. Similar studies need to be done in other ar eas of the country to estimate the prevalence of hypertension and asso ciated factors as prerequisites for any programme to control the disea se.