May Measurement Month 2022: an analysis of blood pressure screening results from Ghana

The May Measurement Month (MMM) campaign was carried out in Ghana in 2022 with the aim of raising awareness of raised blood pressure (BP). Here, we report on the findings of the campaign. Adults aged ≥ 18 years were recruited opportunistically at Greater Accra, Eastern, Central, and Ashanti Regions of Ghana. Three seated BP readings were taken for each participant, along with completing a questionnaire on demographics, lifestyle factors, and comorbidities. Hypertension was defined as a systolic BP ≥ 140 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥ 90 mmHg or being on antihypertensive medication. Controlled BP was defined as being on antihypertensive medication with a BP <140/90 mmHg. Multiple imputation was used to estimate any missing BP readings. In total, 3654 were screened, with a mean age of 38.3 years and 14.8% of whom were female. Of all participants, 1171 (32.0%) had hypertension, of whom 125 (10.7%) were aware, and 118 (10.1%) were on antihypertensive medication. Of those on antihypertensive medication, 23 (19.5%) had controlled BP, and of all participants with hypertension, 2.0% had controlled BP. The MMM campaign in Ghana identified a high proportion of participants with either untreated or inadequately treated hypertension. It is important to note that the annual BP screening campaign is a means to create awareness of the need to get screened and also identifies large numbers of individuals with raised BP.