Validity of self-reported hypertension and associated factors among Vietnamese adults: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to determine the validity of self-reported hypertension and identify factors affecting the disagreement between self-reported hypertension and objective measures of blood pressure among adults in Vietnam. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 4,219 people aged 18 and older reported their hypertension status and had their blood pressure measured. The inter-reliability between self-reported and measured hypertension was assessed using Cohen's Kappa statistics. Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to examine the affecting factors of disagreement. RESULT: Self-reported hypertension prevalence was 13.2% (557/4,219), while measured hypertension was 20.9% (881/4,219). An agreement between self-reported and measured data was moderate for the hypertension of participants (κ = 0.39, 95% CI 0.36-0.43). Self-reported hypertension showed high specificity (93.9%) (95% CI 93.0-94.7) but low sensitivity (40.1%; 95 CI 36.8-43.4). The percentage of disagreement in hypertension (number of false positives and false negatives between self-reported and measured data) among adults in Vietnam was 17.3%. CONCLUSION: Our findings showed there was a high disagreement percentage of hypertension between self-reported and measured data. This is the first report of this issue to warn of health risks if high blood pressure is not detected early. The disagreement of hypertension was observed more frequently in men, people older than 40, minority ethnic groups, farmers, and people with a BMI greater than 25 kg/m2.

Researchers often ask people to answer questions about their own health problems, such as high blood pressure, to study the effects of these conditions. People often provide self-reported information in response to this inquiry. However, this information might not be accurate. Therefore, it is preferable to use biological data, which involves having blood pressure checked by a machine.In this study, the self-reported hypertension of adults in Vietnam was compared to measured blood pressure data. We found that, whereas only 13.2% of respondents reported having high blood pressure, the measured blood pressure by machine revealed that 20.9% of respondents had the condition. The study also discovered that some elements, including age, gender, ethnicity, BMI, smoking status, and drinking, were associated with the discrepancy between self-reported and measured hypertension among participants.This study demonstrates that it is unreliable to estimate the prevalence of high blood pressure in Vietnam using self-reported data. According to the study, including biological tests in social surveys can increase data accuracy and clarify societal health disparities. The study suggests that to avoid and identify these health issues early, people should obtain more health education and undergo routine physicals.

Effectiveness, Safety and Tolerance of Methotrexate in Vietnamese Psoriatic Arthritis Patients.

AIM: To access the effectiveness, safety and tolerance of methotrexate (MTX) in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) treatment. METHODS: We recruit 37 patients, admitted at HCMC Hospital of Dermato-Venereology from 1/2016 to 3/2017, with MTX dosage ranging from 10 mg to 15 mg per week. RESULTS: Skin lesion response after 12 weeks improved PASI 50: 40.5%, PASI 75: 24.3%. Disease activity score decreased after 12 weeks with ∆DAS28 = -1.43 + 0.79, 37.8% PsA achieved complete remission. Nausea and vomiting were 8.1%. These symptoms were mild and transient. We did not stop MTX usage. The rate of elevating SGPT 2-3 times as much as the upper limit of the normal range was 2.7%. CONCLUSION: We finally demonstrated that the rate of treatment response in Vietnam is the same as demonstrated by foreign authors in other countries.

The Relationship between HLA-B27, HLA-Cw06, HLA-DR7 and Psoriatic Arthritis in Vietnamese Patients: Disease Progression and Therapeutic Burden.

We conducted a prospective, cross-sectional study at Ho Chi Minh City Hospital of Dermato Venereology from January 2016 to March 2017 in 40 psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients to evaluate the disease progression and therapeutic burden about the HLA patterns. Based upon our results, PsA with HLA-B27 (+) had a threat of severe arthritis. PsA with HLA-Cw06 (+) had a higher risk of earlier onset and shorter duration for plaque psoriasis to transform into PsA. HLA-DR7 (+) in PsA delayed the time for conversion from plaque psoriasis into PsA. These findings are quite similar to other studies in the literature.

Quality of Life in Psoriasis Vietnamese Patients Treated with Metformin in Combination with Methotrexate.

A cross-sectional study was performed on 48 psoriasis Vietnamese patients treated with metformin as an add-on for methotrexate and 48 psoriasis patients treated methotrexate alone. The mean PASI scores were 5.25 ± 5.72. Total QOL scores had a slight difference between patients treated metformin combined with methotrexate and methotrexate alone (62.32 ± 18.1 vs 60.91 ± 19.63). Combined therapy with metformin and methotrexate contributes to significantly improve the quality of life for patients with psoriasis.