Hypertension prevalence and control in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Assessing the contributions of an urban population health initiative to shift political priority towards cardiovascular health: three case studies from Brazil, Mongolia and Senegal

BACKGROUND

The urban population health initiative was designed as a multidisciplinary, multisector programme to address cardiovascular (CV) disease, specifically hypertension and its underlying causes in the cities of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; Dakar, Senegal; and São Paulo, Brazil. This article aims to provide an overview of the history and dynamics of CV disease policy making in the three countries, to present the policy reform contributions of the initiative and its role in the policy agenda-setting framework/process in each country and to identify the enablers and challenges to the initiative for doing so.

METHODS

A qualitative case study was conducted for each setting from November 2020 to January 2021, comprised of a document review, semi-structured in-depth interviews and unstructured interviews with stakeholders involved in the initiative. The literature review included documents from the initiative and the peer-reviewed and grey literature with a total of 188 documents screened. Interviews were conducted with 21 stakeholders. Data collection and thematic analysis was guided by (i) the Kingdon multiple streams conceptual framework with the main themes being CV disease problems, policy, politics and the role of policy entrepreneurs; and (ii) the study question inquiring on the role of the urban population health initiative at the CV disease policy level and enabling and challenging factors to advancing CV disease policy. Data were thematically analysed using the Framework Method.

RESULTS

Each setting was characterized by a high hypertension and CV disease burden combined with an aware and proactive political environment. Policy outcomes attributed to the initiative were updating the guidelines and/or algorithms of care for hypertension and including revised physical and nutritional education in school curricula, in each city. Overall, the urban health initiative's effects in the policy arena, were most prominent in Mongolia and Senegal, where the team effectively acted as policy entrepreneur, promoting the solutions/policies in alignment with the most pressing local problems and in strong involvement with the political actors. The initiative was also involved in improving access to CV disease drugs at primary health levels. Its success was influenced by the local governance structures, the proximity of the initiative to the policy makers and the local needs. In Brazil, needs were expressed predominantly in the clinical practice.

CONCLUSIONS

This multi-country experience shows that, although the policy and political environment plays its role in shaping initiatives, often the local priority needs are the driving force behind wider change.

Sex and Age Differences in the Association Between Social Determinants of Health and Cardiovascular Health According to Household Income Among Mongolian Adults: Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND

Although social determinants of health (SDH) are an underlying cause of poor cardiovascular health (CVH), there is insufficient evidence for the association between SDH and CVH, which varies by sex and age among Mongolian adults.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to explore whether education, household income, and health insurance were associated with CVH according to sex and age among Mongolian adults.

METHODS

The final sample included data on 5691 participants (male: n=2521. 44.3% and female: n=3170, 55.7%) aged 18-69 years from the 2019 World Health Organization STEPwise approach to noncommunicable disease risk-factor surveillance. CVH was measured using a modified version of Life's Simple 7 with 4 health behaviors (cigarette smoking, BMI, physical activity, and a healthy diet) and 3 biological factors (blood pressure, fasting glucose, and total cholesterol blood levels) and classified into poor, intermediate, and ideal levels as recommended by the American Heart Association. Multinomial logistic regression analyses examined the associations between SDH and CVH by monthly equivalized household income after adjusting for age, sex, work status, area, history of myocardial infarction or stroke, use of aspirin, and use of statin. Subgroup analyses were conducted to examine the associations between SDH and CVH based on sex and age, considering monthly equivalized household income as a key variable.

RESULTS

Using the ideal level of CVH as a reference, among those with the lowest household income, having less than 12 years of education, and not having health insurance were associated with poor CVH (education level: odds ratio [OR] 2.42, 95% CI 1.30-4.51; P=.006; health insurance: OR 2.17, 95% CI 1.13-4.18; P=.02). These associations were more profound among female individuals (education level: OR 2.99, 95% CI 1.35-6.63; P=.007; health insurance: OR 2.54, 95% CI 1.09-5.90; P=.03) and those aged 18-44 years (education level: OR 3.22, 95% CI 1.54-6.72; P=.002; health insurance: OR 2.03, 95% CI 0.98-4.18; P=.06).

CONCLUSIONS

Participants in the lowest household income group with lower educational levels and without health insurance were more likely to have poor CVH, and these results were more pronounced in female individuals and young adults. These findings suggest the need to develop strategies for CVH equity in Mongolian female individuals and young adults that consider income levels, education levels, and health insurance.

Care Cascades for Hypertension in Low-Income Settings: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective: High blood pressure is the leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The hypertension care cascade (HCC) is increasingly being used to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions. This systematic review aims to examine HCC in low-income settings. Methods: The search strategy included articles published between January 2010 and April 2023. We excluded studies with incomplete HCC, on fragile patients or aged <18 years, reviews. We used the MOOSE guideline. Five researchers retrieved data on the survey year, country, population, HCC and diagnostic methods for hypertension. We used JBI Critical Appraisal Tools for quality assessment. Results: Ninety-five articles were analyzed. Average hypertension prevalence was 33% (95% CI: 31%-34%), lower in LICs than in LMICs (25% vs. 34%). The overall mean awareness of hypertension was 48% (95% CI: 45%-51%), its treatment was 35% (95% IC: 32%-38%) and its control 16% (95% CI: 14%-18%). In almost all steps, percentages were lower in LICs and in Sub-Saharan Africa. Conclusion: Trends in HCC vary between countries, with poorer performance in LICs. This review highlights the need for interventions tailored to low-income settings in order to improve hypertension care.

Comparison of Three Diagnostic Definitions of Metabolic Syndrome and Estimation of Its Prevalence in Mongolia

We sought to estimate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) in the urban population of Mongolia and suggest a preferred definition. This cross-sectional study comprised 2076 representative samples, which were randomly selected to provide blood samples. MS was defined by the National Cholesterol Education Program's Adults Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP III), the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), and the Joint Interim Statement (JIS). The Cohen's kappa coefficient (κ) was analyzed to determine the agreement between the individual MS components using the three definitions. The prevalence of MS in the 2076 samples was 19.4% by NCEP ATP III, 23.6% by IDF, and 25.4% by JIS criteria. For men, moderate agreement was found between the NCEP ATP III and waist circumference (WC) (κ = 0.42), and between the JIS and fasting blood glucose (FBG) (κ = 0.44) and triglycerides (TG) (κ = 0.46). For women, moderate agreement was found between the NCEP ATP III and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (κ = 0.43), and between the JIS and HDL-C (κ = 0.43). MS is highly prevalent in the Mongolian urban population. The JIS definition is recommended as the provisional definition.

Implementing a multisector public-private partnership to improve urban hypertension management in low-and middle- income countries

BACKGROUND

Cardiovascular disease presents an increasing health burden to low- and middle-income countries. Although ample therapeutic options and care improvement frameworks exist to address its prime risk factor, hypertension, blood pressure control rates remain poor. We describe the results of an effectiveness study of a multisector urban population health initiative that targets hypertension in a real-world implementation setting in cities across three continents. The initiative followed the "CARDIO4Cities" approach (quality of Care, early Access, policy Reform, Data and digital technology, Intersectoral collaboration, and local Ownership).

METHOD

The approach was applied in Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, Dakar in Senegal, and São Paulo in Brazil. In each city, a portfolio of evidence-based practices was implemented, tailored to local priorities and available data. Outcomes were measured by extracting hypertension diagnosis, treatment and control rates from primary health records. Data from 18,997 patients with hypertension in primary health facilities were analyzed.

RESULTS

Over one to two years of implementation, blood pressure control rates among enrolled patients receiving medication tripled in São Paulo (from 12·3% to 31·2%) and Dakar (from 6·7% to 19·4%) and increased six-fold in Ulaanbaatar (from 3·1% to 19·7%).

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides first evidence that a multisectoral population health approach to implement known best-practices, supported by data and digital technologies, and relying on local buy-in and ownership, can improve hypertension control in high-burden urban primary care settings in low-and middle-income countries.

Changes in Vascular Function from Preconception to Postpartum Among Mongolian Women

Background: Pregnancy is associated with physiological changes to meet the metabolic demands of the growing fetus. To understand adverse pregnancy outcomes it is important to establish vascular changes throughout pregnancy. We examined longitudinal changes in vascular measurements from prepregnancy through postpartum. Materials and Methods: Seventy women planning to conceive in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia enrolled in this prospective study. Within 6 months, 44 (63%) had conceived; of which 36 (82%) delivered. Ten (28%) developed complex pregnancies and were analyzed separately. Vascular measures included central systolic blood pressure (cSBP), central diastolic blood pressure (cDBP), augmentation index corrected for heart rate of 75 beats/minute (AIx-75), and pulse wave velocity (PWV). Measurements were performed at prepregnancy, second trimester (22-24 weeks), third trimester (34-36 weeks), and 2 months postpartum. Missing values (n = 0-6 per time period) were replaced by multiple imputation. A repeated measures analysis of variance analyzed changes within individual women over the four time points adjusted for age, parity, and body mass index. Results: We observed significant reductions from prepregnancy to second trimester for mean Alx-75 (17.1%-12.6%; p = 0.006) and cSBP (91.7-86.8 mmHg; p = 0.03) but not for cDBP or PWV. Both mean AIx-75 and cSBP increased in third trimester. In the postpartum, cSBP returned to prepregnancy levels, whereas AIx-75 exceeded prepregnancy levels, although this fell short of significance (p = 0.09). Similar vascular patterns were observed in women with complex pregnancies for AIx-75; however, PWV increased from the second trimester and remained higher through postpartum, although not significant. Conclusion: In Mongolian women, we observed a decrease in AIx-75 and cSBP from prepregnancy through second trimester, which resolved postpartum. These results provide an understanding of changes across pregnancies in an Asian country. Future studies should assess vascular changes across pregnancies to determine if it can predict conditions such as pre-eclampsia.

National trends in prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension among adults in Mongolia from 4 cross-sectional surveys in 2005, 2009, 2013, and 2019

This study aimed to analyze trends in the prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension and associated factors in persons 15 years and older from 2005 to 2019 in Mongolia. National data were analyzed from 21,342 people (≥15 years) who participated in 4 cross-sectional STEPwise Approach to NCD Risk Factor Surveillance surveys in Mongolia (2005, 2009, 2013, or 2019) and had complete blood pressure measurements. The prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension were calculated using sociodemographic factors within each study year. Logistic regression was employed to assess the associations between sociodemographic and health factors and status of hypertension, awareness, treatment, and control by study year and pooled sample. Trend analyzes showed that the prevalence of hypertension decreased significantly from 28.4% in 2005 to 23.2% in 2019 (P < .001). The prevalence of awareness among hypertensives remained unchanged, the treatment among aware decreased, and the control rate increased. In adjusted logistic regression analysis with the pooled sample, male sex (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 1.49, 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 1.32-1.68), older age (≥45 years) (AOR: 5.90, 95% CI: 4.90-7.10), obesity (AOR: 4.29, 95% CI: 3.77-4.88), more frequent alcohol use (≥1-2 days/week) (AOR: 1.69, 95% CI: 1.39-2.05) were positively, and higher educational level (≥12 years) (AOR: 0.77, 95% CI: 0.68-0.87) and urban residence (AOR: 0.84, 95% CI: 0.74-0.97) were negatively associated with hypertension prevalence. The prevalence of hypertension among Mongolian adults has decreased in recent years. Levels of hypertension awareness were unchanged, treatment decreased, and control increased. Increased health promotion, detection, and treatment of hypertension in Mongolia are indicated.

Risk Factors for Cerebral Aneurysm Rupture in Mongolia

Purpose

Identification of country-specific demographic, medical, lifestyle, and geoenvironmental risk factors for cerebral aneurysm rupture in the developing Asian country of Mongolia. First-time estimation of the crude national incidence of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH).

Methods

A retrospective analysis of all intracranial digital subtraction angiographies (DSA) acquired in Mongolia during the 2‑year period 2016–2017 (1714 examinations) was performed. During this period, DSA was used as primary diagnostic imaging modality for acute severe neurological symptoms in the sole hospital nationwide dedicated to neurological patients. The catchment area of the hospital included the whole country. Patients with incidental and ruptured aneurysms were reviewed with respect to their medical history and living conditions. The data was used to install a Mongolian aneurysm registry.

Results

The estimated annual crude incidence of cerebral aneurysm rupture was 6.71 for the country of Mongolia and 14.53 per 100,000 persons for the capital region of Ulaanbaatar. Risk factors common in developed countries also applied for the Mongolian population: A medical history of hypertension, smoking or the presence of multiple aneurysms led to a higher relative risk of rupture. In contrast, female gender was not associated with a higher risk in this national cohort. Males pursuing a traditional nomadic living may exhibit a specifically high risk of rupture.

Conclusion

Disease management of over 200 individuals/year with aSAH constitutes a socioeconomic burden in Mongolia. Efforts to raise awareness of the risk factors hypertension and smoking among the Mongolian population are desirable. Measures to improve the nationwide availability of modern neurovascular treatment options are currently under consideration.

May Measurement Month 2019: an analysis of blood pressure screening results from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Mortality from haemorrhagic stroke and ischaemic heart disease per 10 000 people in Mongolia ranks among the highest in the world. The main risk factor being hypertension. We aimed to screen hypertension for the working people in their workplace who rarely visit primary clinics. Two hundred health care volunteers were trained for blood pressure (BP) measuring technique and providing healthy lifestyle advice. Screening was performed at 80 sites, the majority were workplaces, over a period of 60 days when the May Measurement Month (MMM) campaign launched in May 2019. Hypertension was defined by the standard MMM guidance, as systolic BP ≥140 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥90 mmHg (based on the mean of the second and third measurement), or taking anti-hypertensive medication. Blood pressure measuring digital devices (Omron-M3, Microlife A6 PC) were all clinically verified and approved for clinical use. A total of 6522 individuals (majority 67.8% male and mean age 37.0 ± 10.4) were screened. The proportion of hypertensive adults was 32.5%, of whom, 62.2% were aware of their hypertension, and 50.1% were on medication. The control rate for those on treatment was 27.1%. Non-communicable disease risk factors were 51.2% (3342) overweight/obese (19.5% obese), 38.7% (2523) smoking, 64.4% (4200) alcohol consumption, 4.5% (294) previously diagnosed with diabetes, and 1.3% and 1.1% with a heart attack or stroke, respectively. We conclude that hypertension management needs to be prioritized and increased awareness is required in the population.