Prevalence of hypertension in rural West Africa

Abstract

The prevalence of hypertension in rural African communities has been reported previously to be relatively low, with prevalence rates ranging between 2.5% and 10.9%. The authors obtained blood pressure recordings in 3,588 adult residents (age > 20 years) of the Liberian Agricultural Company rubber plantation, located in rural Liberia, West Africa. Blood pressures were obtained using automated digital blood pressure machines in a house-to- house survey. Individuals with a systolic blood pressure greater than 139 mm Hg or a diastolic blood pressure greater than 89 mm Hg were referred to a central site, where three subsequent blood pressure determinations were made, the mean of which was used to..