Prevalence, Awareness and Risk Factors of Hypertension among Health Workers at the Connaught Teaching Hospital,...

Hypertension among the health workforce is a major public health problem due to its high prevalence and dire consequences. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of hypertension, awareness, and related cardiovascular risk factors among health workers in a Teaching Hospital in Sierra Leone.

This was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted among 250 health workers. A modified World Health Organization Non-Communicable Disease (WHO NCD) questionnaire was used to collect information on the socio-demographic characteristics, anthropometric, and lifestyle variables.

The prevalences of hypertension and pre-hypertension were 37.2% and 22.4% respectively. The level of hypertension awareness was 36.6 %. The univariate logistic regression showed a significant crude odds ratio for gender, age, marital status, smokers, alcohol, extra sugar to tea/coffee, years of employment, weight, Waist Circumference, Hip Circumference, and Waist-Hip-Ratio (WHR) in the prediction of hypertension. The multivariate logistic regression revealed that male sex (AOR = 1.89; C.I 95%: [0.01- >20], p = 0.002), duration of employment (AOR = 0.36; C.I 95%: [0.17- 0.94], p = 0.01), and Waist Circumference (WC) (AOR = 1.46; C.I 95%: [0.58 - 3.68], p = 0.017), were positive predictors of hypertension. Males were about 2 times more likely to have hypertension, (AOR = 1.89; C.I 95%: [0.01- >20]). Participants with abnormal Waist Circumference (WC) were 1.5 times more likely to have hypertension (AOR = 1.46; C.I 95%: [0.58 - 3.68]).

The prevalence of hypertension in this study population was slightly higher than the 34.8% reported for the general population even though this study population is relatively younger. The level of awareness was low. This calls for the implementation of an effective workplace health education program to improve lifestyle and reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases.