Prevalence and factors associated with hypertension among rural community dwellers in a local government area, South West Nigeria

Background: Many African countries including Nigeria are said to be at various stages of an epidemiological transition from communicable to non-communicable diseases (NCD). Objective: This study determined the current pattern and correlates of hypertension among adults in some rural commu- nities in South West Nigeria. Methods: It was a descriptive cross-sectional study of 1012 individuals across 16 rural communities. The respondents’ blood pressure, weight, height and waist circumference were measured. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were done. Results: Among the participants, 461 (45.6%) had hypertension out of whom 217 (47.1%) and 244 (52.9%) had stage 1 and stage 2 hypertension respectively. The systolic, diastolic and mean arterial blood pressures increased with age. The significant predictors of hypertension were; increasing age (p