RESUMEN
Background Hypertension is a global entity accounting for one of the most modifiable risk factors for all-cause morbidity and mortality. It is associated with a raised risk of cardiovascular disease, particularly in developing countries. Nevertheless, the banking sector profession lifestyle is sedentary and accompanied by high levels of mental stress, thus at a higher risk of developing hypertension. Objective The objective is to assess the prevalence of hypertension among bank employees and the associated risk factors in River Nile State - Sudan. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on Atbara and Al-Damar localities' banks in River Nile state from January to March 2020. Data were collected on demographics, BMI, waist circumference (WC), medical history, family history, nutritional habits, physical activities, medications history, work stress, complaints, and blood pressure. Results Ninety-eight bank employees were enrolled, with elevated blood pressure present in 45(45.9%) participants, of whom 18 (40%) were newly diagnosed. 43.9% were in the age group 31-40 years. High blood pressure was significantly associated with older age >40 years, BMI > 30 kg/m2, WC > 90 cm, diabetes mellitus (DM), smoking, family history, salty diet, reduced daily exercise (30 minutes per day), severe stress at work, with overall P-value = <0.005. Conclusion The prevalence of high blood pressure was remarkably high among bank employees. Risk factors were: age (>40 years), obesity, DM, family history, salty diet intake, severe stress levels at work and sedentary lifestyle.
RESUMEN
Background In this study, we aimed to study the frequency of hypertension in Sudanese patients with gouty arthritis attending the largest three tertiary hospitals in Khartoum and correlate it with serum uric acid levels. Methodology An observational, descriptive, cross-sectional, hospital-based study was conducted in rheumatology clinics in Khartoum state, Sudan, from August 2020 to January 2021 involving 100 participants. Data were collected, prepared, and analyzed using SPSS version 25.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). Results In this study, 100 participants were enrolled. The majority were males (79%), with 45% of the participants in the age group of 61-75 years. Overall, 89% of participants had symptoms of gouty arthritis, with the knee being the most common joint affected in 27% of participants. Most participants had a uric acid level above the target (6 mg/dL). The most frequently used uric acid lowering agent was found to be allopurinol in 85% of the patients. Furthermore, among those with gouty arthritis, 51% had hypertension with nearly half being insufficiently controlled. The frequency of undiagnosed hypertension among the participants was found to be 19%, which was statistically significant among gouty arthritis patients (p-value < 0.0001). Upon further analysis of our hypertensive participants, 79.5% of males (n = 35) had high blood pressure levels, which was statistically significant as well (p-value = 0.005), with the highest prevalence being among the age group of 61-75 years. Of those who were hypertensive, 51% had a history of concomitant comorbidity. Overall, 90% of the hypertensive participants (n = 40) had joint symptoms. Moreover, serum uric acid level was above the target in 93% of the participants. Conclusions Hypertension was found to be the most frequently recognized comorbidity in gouty arthritic patients, with more than a third remaining undiagnosed. Moreover, the male gender was a significant risk factor for hypertension among the gouty arthritis participants. Nevertheless, most patients with high blood pressure levels had concurrent elevated uric acid levels.
