Awareness and control of hypertension in Bangladesh: follow-up of a hypertensive cohort.

Abstract

To assess the effect of awareness and advice to seek care on blood pressure (BP) control among patients with hypertension in Bangladesh. Longitudinal study. The study was carried out in icddr,b surveillance sites at rural Matlab in Chandpur district and semi-urban Kamalapur in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Randomly selected men and non-pregnant women aged 20 years or older without any acute illness or history of any vascular events such as stroke or acute myocardial infarction. Hypertension was defined as systolic BP (SBP) ≥140 and/or diastolic BP (DBP) ≥90 mm Hg or as self-reported hypertension under medication. We advised patients to seek care from a qualified provider and to adopt a healthy lifestyle. We compared changes in BP from baseline to follow-up at around 6 months. Overall, 17.1% (n=287) of participants had hypertension at baseline with significantly higher prevalence in the semi-urban than in the rural population (23.6% vs 10.8%; p<0.001); half were unaware of their condition. At follow-up, 83% (n=204) reported a visit to any healthcare provider. In the semi-urban area, a higher proportion of patients visited medically qualified practitioners than in the rural area (76.7% vs 36.6%, p<0.000). SBP (-3.3±20.7 mm Hg; p<0.01) and DBP (-2.0±13.0 mm Hg; p<0.02) were lower at follow-up. Those who visited medically qualified practitioners had significant SBP (-3.9±22.4 mm Hg; p<0.03) and DBP (-2.7±14.1 mm Hg; p<0.02) reduction. BP reduction did not reach statistical significance among those visiting a pharmacist or their village doctors. Overall, half of the patients with hypertension achieved the BP control goal (BP<140/90 mm Hg). Awareness and simple health messages increase provider visit, reduce blood pressure and improve BP control in hypertensive Bangladeshis. Longer-term follow-up is required to verify the sustainability.