PREVALENCE OF HYPERTENSION IN ADULT SAUDI POPULATION

Hypertension is believed to be one of the most common diseases affecti ng mankind. The prevalence of hypertension varies in different populat ions. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of hypertension in adult Saudi population. Materials and methods: The study was conducted in 3 5 different areas of Saudi Arabia on 14660 adult Saudis (males = 6162; females = 8498). Blood pressure was recorded by a trained nurse using a mercury sphygmomanometer, when the individuals were in sitting posi tion. The second of two readings taken at 3-5 min interval was recorde d. Based on the criteria of WHO, individuals were grouped as normotens ive or hypertensive. Results: The overall prevalence of hypertension i n Saudi population was obtained separately for the males and females. The highest prevalence of hypertension was in the Eastern province and the lowest in the Central and South-Western provinces. Further groupi ng was carried out according to the areas in which the individuals bel onged within each province. Considerable variation was seen in the pre valence, where in the males the prevalence ranged from 1.4 to 18.71% a nd in the females it ranged from 0.9 to 14%. Discussion and conclusion : This study has determined the prevalence of hypertension as judged f rom the systolic and diastolic pressures measured only at one occasion . The results showed that though the overall prevalence of hypertensio n is significantly lower in most of the areas of Saudi Arabia, in some areas particularly in the Eastern province fairly high prevalence rat es are obtained. These differences may result from either genetic make up, dietary habits or other environmental factors affecting the popul ations in different regions of Saudi Arabia. This paper provides a com prehensive coverage of hypertension prevalence in Saudi population.