Wangdi Kinley, Jamtsho Tshering
Research Fellow, Department of Global Health, Research School of Population Health, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
Medical Officer, Phuentsholing General Hospital, Phuentsholing, Chukha Bhutan.
Nepal J Epidemiol. 2020 Mar 30;10(1):830-840. doi: 10.3126/nje.v10i1.25466. eCollection 2020 Mar.
Bhutan underwent a nutrition transition in the last two decades. Diet has changed from high-fibre, high carbohydrate and low-fat diets to food with high sugar, fat, salt and processed foods. This is further compounded by a sedentary lifestyle. This paper aims to determine the national prevalence of hypertension and study the associated correlates in Bhutanese adults.
This study used secondary data from the Bhutan National Health Survey 2012 (NHS, 2012) which was a nationwide survey covering all 20 districts in Bhutan. The dependent variable was self-reported hypertension under medication. Multivariable logistic regression was undertaken to identify independent correlates of hypertension.
The national prevalence of hypertension was 17.4% (5,408). Risk factors for hypertension were female sex, increasing age, occupation of armed forces, manager, technician, service and sales worker, machine operator and monks, diabetes, and feeling worried. Being single was negatively correlated with hypertension. In addition, hypertension is negatively associated with the poverty of the district.
Hypertension was associated with age, being women, occupation with less physical activity, being worried and having diabetes. The preventive measures both at community and healthcare facility-based through cost-effective strategies should target these covariates.
在过去二十年中，不丹经历了营养转型。饮食已从高纤维、高碳水化合物和低脂肪饮食转变为高糖、高脂肪、高盐和加工食品。久坐不动的生活方式进一步加剧了这种情况。本文旨在确定不丹成年人高血压的全国患病率，并研究相关的关联因素。
本研究使用了2012年不丹全国健康调查（NHS，2012）的二手数据，该调查是一项覆盖不丹所有20个地区的全国性调查。因变量是自我报告的正在接受药物治疗的高血压。采用多变量逻辑回归来确定高血压的独立关联因素。
高血压的全国患病率为17.4%（5408例）。高血压的危险因素包括女性、年龄增长、武装部队职业、经理、技术人员、服务和销售人员、机器操作员和僧侣、糖尿病以及感到担忧。单身与高血压呈负相关。此外，高血压与所在地区的贫困呈负相关。
高血压与年龄、女性、体力活动较少的职业、担忧和患有糖尿病有关。通过具有成本效益的策略，在社区和医疗机构采取的预防措施应针对这些协变量。
