Association between Family History and Hypertension among the Patients in Nairobi:

Abstract

Hypertension is an important public health issue globally. With the global prevalence of hypertension being 40%, Africa ranks the highest with a prevalence of 46%. The high burden in developing countries is attributable to the high levels of risk factors. In Kenya, 20-30% of adults had hypertension in 2013. However, there is little information on the prevalence of hypertension and its association with family history as its risk factor among adult patients seeking medical care in Nairobi. The primary goal of this study was to determine the association between family history and hypertension among adult patients at Mbagathi Hospital. Fisher's formula was used to determine the sample size which was composed of 384 respondents while systematic random sampling was used to select the study participants. The study adopted a cross-sectional, descriptive study design. Data collection included the use of a questionnaire that included both open and closed-ended questions given to each participant with each being allowed to exercise informed consent before responding to questions. Descriptive statistics mainly means and percentages were used to analyze data. Inferences were made using the chi-square statistic. Statistical significance was set at P <05. Patients with hypertensive parents had a high prevalence of hypertension (42.2%). A significant connection between family history and hypertension (p=0.017) was discovered using a statistical chi-square test while 69.9% of the participants had a family member who had hypertension. Family history was an associated risk factor for hypertension; respondents who had a family member with hypertension and mostly those with a hypertensive mother were more likely to be hypertensive.