Prevalence and socioeconomic determinants of hypertension in urban and rural Uzbekistan: A national cross-sectional study
Abstract
The present study was aimed at examining the prevalence and socioeconomic determinants of hypertension in urban and rural populations of Uzbekistan. It was a national cross-sectional survey with 5847 adults aged 18–69 years recruited through a multistage cluster sampling. Data were collected via an interviewer-administered standard questionnaire, physical examination, and blood pressure measurement. The findings indicated that the overall rate of hypertension prevalence was 38.2%, but rural residents experienced a much higher prevalence rate (0.42%) than residents in urban areas (34.5%). The multivariate logistic analysis showed that higher university education and wealth at the national level were protective factors. But in rural areas, employment in heavy manual work was an independent risk factor. There was a staggering deficit in the disease care cycle. Disease awareness stood at 58.4% in urban and 46.9% in rural areas. Even blood pressure control in such patients was greater in urban (21.1%) than in rural areas (9.3%). This study points out that hypertension is an important public health issue in Uzbekistan with a geographically distributed heterogeneous pattern. Socioeconomic determinants play a determining role in the prevalence and control pattern of the disease. Having special intervention programs for cities and rural areas according to each region's determinants seems to be essential.