شیوع‌ پرفشاری‌ خون‌ و برخی‌ عوامل‌ خطر مرتبط‌ با آن‌ در جمعیت‌ روستایی‌تحت‌ پوشش‌ شبکه‌ بهداشت‌ و درمان‌ شهرستان‌ طارم‌، 1380

Background: Considering high prevalence of hypertension and its increasing trend in urban areas, insufficient awareness of its prevalence in rural areas, and also in order to determine its prevalence and some related factors in rural population, the present research was performed on the population affiliated to health centers in Tarom in 2001. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out on 1500 people over 15 years of age who had been selected through multi-stage randomization. The information required was gathered using questionnaire, interview, and observation by 10 trained Behvarzes. Blood pressure, height, and weight were measured using standard scales, cloth meter and the same sphygmomanometer. Then, the subjects who had systolic blood pressure more than 140 mmHg in two repeated visits were labeled as hypertensive people. After the determination of prevalence of hypertension, the relationship between hypertension on one hand and sex, age, and Body Mass Index (BMI) on the other hand was determined as well. Then, confidence interval was estimated. In order to analyze the data descriptive statistics and Chi-square were utilized. Results: Among 1500 people studied, 42% were male and 58% were female. The prevalence of hypertension was determined to be 12/3% in the samples and by increasing the age and BMI the proportion of hypertensive people was found to be on rise (P<0.0001). Conclusion: Hypertension rate was found to be higher in Tarom rural areas with different lifestyle in comparison with areas with civil lifestyle. More studies to determine the factors related to the increase in hypertension prevalence and observational studies to relieve this problem are highly recommended.