Prevalence and Predictors of Hypertension Among Police Personnel in Port Harcourt Metropolis, Rivers State, Nigeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71637/tnhj.v25i1.983Keywords:
Prevalence, predictors, hypertension, police personnelAbstract
Background: Hypertension is a prevalent chronic cardiovascular condition affecting a substantial portion of the global population. It is a multi-factorial disease condition influenced by the interplay of environmental and genetic factors. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence and predictors of hypertension among police personnel in Port Harcourt Metropolis.
Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study. The multi-stage sampling technique was used to recruit 394 police officers from different police divisions. Data was collected with questionnaire. Blood pressure (Hypertension: ≥ 140/90 mmHg), height and weight were measured. The data was analysed using IBM SPSS version 25. Descriptive statistics were deployed. Chi-square and Mann-Whitney U-tests were utilized to ascertain the association between the study variables and hypertension. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify the predictors of hypertension.
Results: 49.7% of police personnel were found to be hypertensive. Dietary habits and alcohol consumption were not significantly associated with hypertension (p > 0.05). However, being a current smoker, perceived stress and high body mass index were significantly associated with hypertension. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that duration of service, perceived stress, high body mass index and being male were independent predictors of hypertension.
Conclusion: Hypertension is highly prevalent among police officers in our locality. Identified predictors are long duration of service, perceived stress, high BMI and being male. Targeted interventions based on the elucidated predictors of hypertension among this occupational group would be necessary to ensure that police personnel are healthy.
Downloads
References
1. Ma Y, Zhao C, Zhao Y, Lu J, Jiang H, Cao Y, et al. Telemedicine application in patients with chronic disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Med Inform Decis Mak [Internet]. 2022 Dec 1 [cited 2024;22(1):1–14.
2. Puri AM, Joshi PM. Hypertension among Police Personnel with Reference to Perceived Stress - A Cross-Sectional Study. Occup Med Health Aff. 2019.7: 300.
3. Eren OC, Ortiz A, Afsar B, Covic A, Kuwabara M, Lanaspa MA, et al. Multilayered Interplay Between Fructose and Salt in Development of Hypertension. Hypertension. 2019 [cited 2024;73(2):265–72.
4. Tenkorang EY, Sedziafa P, Sano Y, Kuuire V, Banchani E. Validity of Self-Report Data in Hypertension Research: Findings from the Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health. J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich) [Internet]. 2015 Dec 1 [cited 2024;17(12):977–84.
5. Gabriel Uche Pascal Iloh, Agwu Nkwa Amadi. Essential Hypertension in Adult Nigerians in a Primary Care Clinic: A Cross-Sectional
Study of the Prevalence and Associated Family Socio-Biological Factors in Eastern Nigeria. Eur J Prev Med. 2014;2(6):81-89. doi: 10.11648/j.ejpm.20140206.11
6. Akinlua JT, Meakin R, Umar AM, Freemantle N. Current Prevalence Pattern of Hypertension in Nigeria: A Systematic Review. PLoS One [Internet]. 2015 Oct 13 [cited 2024 Sep 16];10(10)
7. Ojule IN. Prevalence of Hypertension and Knowledge of Its Risk Behaviors among Residents of Rural and Urban Communities in Rivers State, Nigeria. Int J Trop Dis Health. 2019 Jan 8;34(1):1–10.
8. Cuffee Y, Ogedegbe C, Williams NJ, Ogedegbe G, Schoenthaler A. Psychosocial risk factors for hypertension: an update of the literature. Curr Hypertens Rep. 2014 Oct;16(10):483. doi: 10.1007/s11906-014-0483-3. PMID: 25139781; PMCID: PMC4163921.
9. Gu Z, Qu Y, Wu H. The Interaction between Occupational Stress and Smoking, Alcohol Drinking and BMI on Hypertension in Chinese Petrochemical Workers. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Dec 16;19(24):16932. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192416932. PMID: 36554810; PMCID: PMC9779072.
10. Sapkota A, Neupane D, Shrestha AD, Adhikari TB, McLachlan CS, Shrestha N. Prevalence and associated factors of hypertension among veterans of the Indian Gorkha regiments living in Pokhara Metropolitan City, Nepal. BMC Health Serv Res. 2021 Sep 1;21(1):899. doi: 10.1186/s12913-021-06907-1. PMID: 34470648; PMCID: PMC8408920.
11. Yong X, Gao X, Zhang Z, Ge H, Sun X, Ma X, et al. Associations of occupational stress with job burn-out, depression and hypertension in coal miners of Xinjiang, China: a cross-sectional study. BMJ Open [Internet]. 2020 Jul 1 [cited 2024 Sep 16];10(7):e036087.
12. Tao, N., Ge, H., Wu, W. et al. Association of glucocorticoid receptor gene polymorphism and occupational stress with hypertension in desert petroleum workers in Xinjiang, China. BMC Med Genet 19, 213 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12881-018-0688-4
13. Lu, Y., Yan, H., Yang, J. et al. Occupational stress and psychological health impact on hypertension of miners in noisy environment in Wulumuqi, China: a case-control study. BMC Public Health 20, 1675 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09760-9
14. Budhathoki L, Paudel L, Shrestha B, Phuyal N, Bhandari G, Shrestha KK, et al. Prevalence of Hypertension and its Associated Risk Factors Among Military Personnel of Nepali Army in Selected Military Barracks of Nepal. Medical Journal of Shree Birendra Hospital. 2022 Jul 7;21(1):104–11.
15. Yang F, Qiu R, Abudoubari S, Tao N, An H. 2022. Effect of interaction between occupational stress and polymorphisms of MTHFR gene and SELE gene on hypertension. PeerJ 10:e12914 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.12914
16. Li, R., Gao, X., Liu, B., Ge, H., Ning, L., Zhao, J., & Liu, J. (2017). Prospective Cohort Study to Elucidate the Correlation between Occupational Stress and Hypertension Risk in Oil Workers from Kelamayi City in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14010001
17. Rustom A, Rahman MM, Iqbal SA, Hasan MNA. Prevalence of Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Diseases among Selected Military Personnel of Bangladesh. Journal of Armed Forces Medical College Bangladesh. 2020;14(2):186–9.
18. Chauhan VS, Bansal M, Sharma V, Gupta R. Prevalence and Risk Factors of Hypertension among Police Personnel of District Gwalior- A Cross-Sectional Study. Indian J Community Med. 2022 Jul-Sep;47(3):379-385. doi: 10.4103/ijcm.ijcm_1154_21.
19. Sen A, Das M, Basu S, Datta G. Prevalence of hypertension and its associated risk factors among Kolkata- Prevalence of hypertension and its associated risk factors among Kolkata-based policemen: a sociopsychological study. Int J Med Sci Public Health. 2015;4(2):1–9.
20. Mahesh PA, Mohan JP. Hypertension among police personnel with reference to perceived Stress - A cross-sectional study. Occup Med Health Aff. 2019;7(2):2–5.
21. Shaidah BJ. Risk factors of hypertension among security officers of the University of Ghana, Legon Campus. University of Ghana; 2016. http://197.255.68.203/handle/123456789/21130
22. Ajah AA, Amah-Tariah FS, Iwu IC. Relationship between Body Mass Index and Hypertension among Police Officers in Port Harcourt. Journal of Cardiovascular Disorders. 2018;5(1):1039.
23. Wordu G, Akusu O. Dietary Pattern and Prevalence of High Blood Pressure among Adult Traders in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Asian Journal of Medicine and Health. 2018;11(1):1–7.
24. Ezejimofor M, Uthman O, Chen YF, Ezejimofor B, Ezeabasili A, Stranges S, et al. Magnitude and pattern of hypertension in the Niger Delta: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of community-based studies. J Glob Health. 2018;8(1):010420.
25. Yates JD, Aldous JWF, Bailey DP, Chater AM, Mitchell ACS, Richards JC. The Prevalence and Predictors of Hypertension and the Metabolic Syndrome in Police Personnel. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(13):6728. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18136728.
26. Chaturvedi DV, Gupta D, Maheshgauri DM, Yadav GE, Debnath DJ, Chaturvedi AD. The prevalence and risk factors of diabetes and hypertension among police personnel: A population-based cross-sectional study. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care. 2025 Jan 1;14(1):441-6.
27. Gurung M, Chotenimitkhun R, Ratanasumawong K, Prommete B, Aekplakorn W. Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome and Its Associated Factors among Thai Police Officers –A Population-based Study. Siriraj Med J. 2023;75(3):208–17.
28. Zheng PF, Shu L, Zhang XY, Si CJ, Yu XL, Gao W, Tong XQ, Zhang L. Association between Dietary Patterns and the Risk of Hypertension among Chinese: A Cross-Sectional Study. Nutrients. 2016;8(4):239. doi: 10.3390/nu8040239.
29. Liu T, Tyndale RF, David SP, Wang H, Yu XQ, Chen W, et al. Association between daily cigarette consumption and hypertension moderated by CYP2A6 genotypes in Chinese male current smokers. Journal of Human Hypertension. 2012;27(1):24–30.
30. Datta BK, Husain MJ. Uncontrolled hypertension among tobacco-users: women of prime childbearing age at risk in India. BMC Womens Health. 2021;21(1):146. doi: 10.1186/s12905-021-01280-x.
31. Kumar A, Gautam PB, Pore P. Prevalence of hypertension and its associated risk factors among police personnel of a metropolitan city. Asian J Med Sci. 2023;14(3):122–9.
32. Gu Z, Qu Y, Wu H. The Interaction between Occupational Stress and Smoking, Alcohol Drinking and BMI on Hypertension in Chinese Petrochemical Workers. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022;19(24):16932.
33. Janczura M, Rosa R, Dropinski J, Gielicz A, Stanisz A, Kotula-Horowitz K, et al. The Associations of Perceived and Oxidative Stress with Hypertension in a Cohort of Police Officers. Diabetes Metab Syndr Obes. 2021; 14:1783–97.
34. Gu Z, Qu Y, Wu H. The Interaction between Occupational Stress and Smoking, Alcohol Drinking and BMI on Hypertension in Chinese Petrochemical Workers. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Dec 16;19(24):16932. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192416932.
35. Jayedi A, Rashidy-Pour A, Khorshidi M, Shab-Bidar S. Body mass index, abdominal adiposity, weight gain and risk of developing hypertension: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of more than 2.3 million participants. Obes Rev. 2018;19(5):654–67.
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Nwankwor Simeon, Inumaye Ojule
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The Journal is owned, published and copyrighted by the Nigerian Medical Association, River state Branch. The copyright of papers published are vested in the journal and the publisher. In line with our open access policy and the Creative Commons Attribution License policy authors are allowed to share their work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
This is an open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author.
The use of general descriptive names, trade names, trademarks, and so forth in this publication, even if not specifically identified, does not imply that these names are not protected by the relevant laws and regulations. While the advice and information in this journal are believed to be true and accurate on the date of its going to press, neither the authors, the editors, nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein.
TNHJ also supports open access archiving of articles published in the journal after three months of publication. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g, in institutional repositories or on their website) within the stated period, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access). All requests for permission for open access archiving outside this period should be sent to the editor via email to editor@tnhjph.com.
