T IA Oseni1
,
M O Dic-Ijiewere2,
A Emorinken2,
B T Adewuyi3
For correspondence:- T Oseni Email: tijanioseni@aauekpoma.edu.ng Tel: +2348036281897
Published: 30 June 2021
Citation: Oseni TI, Dic-Ijiewere MO, Emorinken A, Adewuyi BT. Level of physical activity among patients with hypertension attending a tertiary health care facility in Southern Nigeria. Trop J Med Dent Pract 2021; 2(2):39-45 doi: 10.47227/tjmdp.v2i2.1
© 2021 The author(s).
This is an Open Access article that uses a funding model which does not charge readers or their institutions for access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) and the Budapest Open Access Initiative (http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read), which permit unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited..
Introduction: The role of daily physical activity in preventing cardiovascular disease is well established and increased physical activity has been shown to be effective in the treatment of high BP in several populations. It is uncertain how many adults with hypertension are physically active in our setting. Thus, the aim of the study was to assess the level of physical activity among patients with hypertension presenting to Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital (ISTH), Irrua, Nigeria.
Methods: The study was a hospital based, descriptive cross-sectional study of 502 adult hypertensives, 18 years and above, systematically selected from the medical clinics of ISTH. A semi structured interviewer administered questionnaire was used to obtain information from respondents after obtaining ethical approval and signed informed consent. Data was analysed using epi info 7.1.2.0 and level of significance was set at 0.05.
Results: Mean age of the respondents was 53±12.5years. The study found a significantly higher level of physical activity among respondents who were older than 45 years (p < 0.001 compared to those that are younger), not currently married (p < 0.001 when compared to those that are married), with tertiary level of education (p < 0.001), and a monthly household income of more than N50,000 (USD80.00; p < 0.001 when compared to those who earn less). Respondents who were physically active had a significantly better BP control (p < 0.001) compared to those who were not physically active.
Conclusion: The study found a low level of physical activity among hypertensives in ISTH particularly among those less than 45 years with low level of education and income. There is therefore the need for increased education to patients with hypertension on the need to engage in physical activity.
