World Hypertension Day: Pressure, lifestyle increase high BP among Nigerian youths
As Nigeria joins the rest of the world to mark World Hypertension Day (WHD) today, recent figures suggest that more than 76.2 million Nigerians are living with hypertension and many more are expected to develop the disease, alongside its complications of stroke, kidney damage, heart attack, erectile dysfunction, and ultimately sudden death if the condition is not properly treated.
According to the Nigerian Heart Foundation (NHF), the prevalence of hypertension is about 38.1 per cent. Indeed, 38.1 per cent of the estimated population of 200 million Nigerians shows that 76.2 million citizens are hypertensive.
Interestingly, it is indicated that more than 50 per cent of these hypertensive Nigerians are youths between the ages of 20 and 50 years. Furthermore, the monthly care cost of hypertension is ₦N15,964.76 ($44.35), according to the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA).
This means that not less than N1.22 trillion is spent monthly to care for 76.2 million Nigerians living with high blood pressure/hypertension.
Also, recent studies indicate that more young people are developing hypertension, which is supposed to be a disease of adulthood. A recent study in Britain revealed that young adults in generally good health make up the group most likely to be suffering from undiagnosed hypertension, which could be fatal as untreated hypertension is said to be deadly.
The shock report showed that younger males with hypertension are particularly likely to be undiagnosed. 66 per cent of males and 26 per cent of females aged 16 to 24 years, and 55 per cent of males and 44 per cent of females aged 25 to 34 years who had hypertension were undiagnosed, compared with 17 per cent of males and 21 per cent of females aged 75 years and over.
NMA President, Dr. Uche Rowland Ojinmah, told The Guardian that young people in their 20s can develop hypertension if they adopt a lifestyle and dietary habit that predispose to the condition, such as smoking, excessive alcohol, high salt diet, reduced physical activity, excessive weight gain (obesity), high saturated fat content in diet, use of illicit drugs like cocaine, heroine, and having family history of hypertension.
Celebrated every May 17, the theme for WHD 2023 is ‘Measure your blood pressure, Control it, Live Longer.’ It is a day dedicated to highlighting the importance of monitoring blood pressure and bringing global awareness to the one billion people living with high blood pressure worldwide.
High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is the number risk factor for heart disease, stroke, renal complications, and premature death. Usually, high blood pressure alone does not cause any symptoms. Fortunately, hypertension can be prevented and managed, by checking one’s blood pressure regularly, and through treatment.
Ojinmah said although Nigeria has yet to conduct a nationally representative survey since 1991/1992 to obtain recent Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) risk factor data, a systematic review and meta-analysis of NCDs and their risk factors were carried out in 2018.
