Abstract
BACKGROUND: Globally, sixty-two percent of cerebrovascular disease and forty-nine percent of ischemic heart disease are attributable to increased blood pressure. Half of the patients with stroke and heart disease were due to hypertension. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify prevalence of hypertension and its associated factors in Gimbi town, Ethiopia. METHODS: We conducted a community-based cross-sectional study from May to June 2017 on 471 participants in Gimbi town, western Ethiopia. A systematic sampling method was used to recruit study participants. Data collectors used structured questionnaires to gather data through face to face interview. The standardized procedure followed to measure blood pressure and anthropometric measurements by trained extension health workers. We entered data into Epi-data and exported to SPSS version 20.00 for analysis. Variables having a P-value less than or equal to 0.05 were declared as statistically significant in multivariable analysis. RESULTS: Four hundred seventy-one participants were included with a response rate of 98.85%, and 248 (52.6%) were female. The prevalence of isolated systolic and diastolic hypertension was 9.55% and 9.3%, respectively. Of 157 (33.5%) hypertensive participants, 117 (24.8%) were newly diagnosed. Age 35-55 [AOR: 2.335 95% CI (1.360-4.009)], ≥55 [(AOR: 3.566 95% CI (1.288-9.876))], occupation, government employee [(AOR: 3.072 95% CI (1.458-6.474))], merchants [(AOR: 3.177 95% CI (1.290-7.824))], ever alcohol drinker [(AOR: 2.333 95% CI (1.320-4.122))], and family history of hypertension [(AOR: 6.642 95% CI (4.068-10.843))] were found to be predictor variables for hypertension. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study indicated a hidden high prevalence of hypertension indicating the need for stakeholders' collaboration to design and implement a mobile blood pressure screening programs at the community level.