Dataset Information

Prevalence, Awareness, Treatment, and Control of Hypertension in the United Arab Emirates: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Evidence for the prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is limited. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to summarize the existing knowledge regarding the prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension in the UAE.

Methods

We searched PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, and Google Scholar using prespecified medical subject handling (MeSH) terms and text words to identify the relevant published articles from 1 January 1995 to 31 August 2021. Population-based prospective observational studies conducted among healthy adult subjects living in the UAE and that defined hypertension using the guidelines-recommended blood pressure (BP) cut-offs ≥ 130/80 mmHg or ≥ 140/90 mmHg were considered.

Results

Of 1038 studies, fifteen cross-sectional studies were included for data extraction involving 139,907 adults with a sample size ranging from 74 to 50,138 and with cases defined as blood pressure ≥ 140/90 mmHg. The pooled prevalence of hypertension was 31% (95% confidence interval (CI): 27-36), and a higher prevalence was observed in Dubai (37%, 95% CI: 28-45) than in the Abu Dhabi region (29%, 95% CI: 24-35) and in multicenter studies (24%, 95% CI: 14-33). The level of awareness was only 29% (95% CI: 17-42), 31% (95% CI: 18-44) for treatment, and 38% (95% CI: 19-57) had controlled BP (< 140/90 mmHg).

Conclusion

This study revealed a high prevalence of hypertension with low awareness and suboptimal control of hypertension. Multifaceted approaches that include the systematic measurement of BP, raising awareness, and improving hypertension diagnoses and treatments are needed.

SUBMITTER: Bhagavathula AS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8657061 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BackgroundHypertension is a major health problem in Ghana, being a leading cause of admissions and deaths in the country. In the context of a changing food and health policy environment, we undertook a systematic review (PROSPERO registration number: CRD42020177174) and a meta-analysis of the prevalence of adult hypertension, and its awareness and control in Ghana.MethodsWe searched major databases including PubMed, Embase as well as Google Scholar and online digital collections of public universities of Ghana to locate relevant published and unpublished community-based articles up till April 2020.FindingsEighty-five articles involving 82,045 apparently-healthy subjects aged 15-100 years were analyzed. In individual studies, the prevalence of hypertension, defined in most cases as blood pressure ? 140/90 mmHg, ranged from 2.8% to 67.5%. The pooled prevalence from the meta-analysis was 27.0% (95% CI 24.0%-30.0%), being twice as high in the coastal (28%, 95% CI: 24.0%-31.0%) and middle geo-ecological belts (29%, 95% CI: 25.0%-33.0%) as in the northern belt (13%, 95% CI: 7.0%-21.0%). The prevalence was similar by sex, urban-rural residence or peer-review status of the included studies. It did not appear to vary over the study year period 1976-2019. Of the subjects with hypertension, only 35% (95% CI: 29.0%-41.0%) were aware of it, 22% (95% CI: 16.0%-29.0%) were on treatment and 6.0% (95% CI: 3.0%-10.0%) had their blood pressure controlled. Sensitivity analyses corroborated the robust estimates. There was, however, high heterogeneity (I2 = 98.7%) across the studies which was partly explained by prevalent obesity in the subjects.ConclusionMore than one in four adults in Ghana have hypertension. This high prevalence has persisted for decades and is similar in rural and urban populations. With the low awareness and poor control of hypertension, greater investments in cardiovascular health are required if Ghana is to meet the global target for hypertension.