Tinaye Agere
Emmanuel Kafe
HIGH blood pressure is increasingly affecting young adults aged 14-18 in Zimbabwe, especially those living in urban and peri-urban areas, challenging the common perception that the condition primarily affects older adults, a study has claimed.
High blood pressure is the country’s second-leading chronic disease.
If left untreated, it can lead to heart disease and stroke.
Urban dwellers are particularly at risk due to sedentary lifestyles.
The study, “Prevalence of hypertension and high-normal blood pressure among young adults in Zimbabwe: Findings from a large, cross-sectional population-based survey”, conducted between October 2021 and June 2022, involved 16 883 young people from Harare, Bulawayo and Mashonaland East provinces.
Researchers found that 7,4 percent of participants had hypertension, with rates as high as 10 percent among 23- and 24-year-olds.
The condition was more prevalent in males than females.
Lead researcher Dr Kalpana Sabapathy and her team’s study found that 12, 2 percent of participants had high-normal blood pressure, a precursor to hypertension.
“A pre-specified objective of the survey was to investigate the prevalence of elevated blood pressure and associated factors,” reads part of the study report.
“The prevalence of hypertension was 7,4 percent (95 percent CI 7·0–7·8), and high-normal blood pressure was 12,2 percent (11·7–12·7).”
The report adds: “. . . hypertension was more prevalent among men (8,7 percent) than women (6,6 percent), which was driven by a higher prevalence of systolic blood pressure elevation in men.”
“Systolic blood pressure is the highest pressure in arteries when a heart beats. It is the top number in a blood pressure reading.
“The rate of increase in the prevalence of hypertension was greater for women than men, between the age categories 21-22 years and 23-24 years and the BMI (body mass index) categories overweight to obesity . . .”
The research says hypertension is the greatest driver of cardiovascular mortality and onset might be in youth.
Online Reporter