Social Determinants of Hypertension

Religious disparities in health in Bangladesh-the case of hypertension and diabetes: evidence from two nationally representative cross-sectional surveys

OBJECTIVES

Religious affiliation, beliefs, and practices shape lifestyles and disease risks. This study examined Hindu-Muslim differences in the prevalence and management of hypertension and diabetes in Bangladesh, a religiously plural country with 91% Muslims and 8% Hindus.

DESIGN, SETTINGS AND PARTICIPANTS

We used the nationally representative 2011 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) and 2017-2018 BDHS data. The 2011 BDHS collected blood pressure (BP) data with an 89% response rate (RR) and fasting blood glucose (FBG) data (RR 85%) from household members aged 35 years and above. The 2017-2018 BDHS collected BP and FBG data from household members aged 18 years and above with 89% and 84% RRs, respectively. We analysed 6628 participants for hypertension and 6370 participants for diabetes from the 2011 BDHS, 11 449 for hypertension and 10 744 for diabetes from the 2017-2018 BDHS.

METHODS

We followed the WHO guidelines to define hypertension and diabetes. We used descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression to examine the Hindu-Muslim differences in hypertension and diabetes, and estimated predicted probabilities to examine the changes in hypertension and diabetes risk over time.

RESULTS

Nine in 10 of the sample were Muslims. About 31% of Hindus and 24% of Muslims were hypertensive; 10% of both Hindus and Muslims were diabetic in 2017-2018. The odds of being hypertensive were 45% higher among Hindus than Muslims (adjusted OR: 1.45; 95% CI: 1.23 to 1.71; p<0.001). The levels of awareness, medication and control of hypertension were similar between the religious groups. Between the 2011 and 2017-2018 BDHS, the Hindu-Muslim difference in the prevalence of hypertension increased non-significantly, by 3 percentage points.

CONCLUSIONS

Further studies on religious-based lifestyles, Hindu-Muslim differences in diet, physical activity, stress, and other risk factors of hypertension and diabetes are needed to understand Hindus' higher likelihood of being hypertensive, in contrast, not diabetic compared with Muslims.

Incidence of Arterial Hypertension in People With Periodontitis and Characterization of the Oral and Subgingival Microbiome: A Study Protocol

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. High blood pressure in particular, continues to increase throughout the global population at an increasingly fast pace. The relationship between arterial hypertension and periodontitis has been recently discussed in the context of its origins and implications. Particularly relevant is the role of the periodontal microbiome linked to persistent local and systemic inflammation, along with other risk factors and social determinants of health. The present protocol will investigate/assess the association between periodontal disease and its microbiome on the onset of hypertension, within a cohort from Mexico City. One thousand two hundred twelve participants will be studied during a 60-month period. Studies will include analysis of periodontal conditions, sampling and sequencing of the salivary and subgingival microbiome, interviews on nutritional and lifestyle habits, social determinants of health, blood pressure and anthropometric measurements. Statistical associations and several classic epidemiology and machine learning approaches will be performed to analyze the data. Implications for the generation of public policy—by early public health interventions or epidemiological surveillance approaches—and for the population empowerment—via the establishment of primary prevention recommendations, highlighting the relationship between oral and cardiovascular health—will be considered. This latter set of interventions will be supported by a carefully planned science communication and health promotion strategy. This study has been registered and approved by the Research and Ethics Committee of the School of Dentistry, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (CIE/0308/05/2019) and the National Institute of Genomic Medicine (CEI/2020/12). The umbrella cohort was approved by the Institutional Bioethics Committee of the National Institute of Cardiology-Ignacio Chavez (INC-ICh) under code 13-802.

“Promotores da saúde” em um assentamento rural

O estudo objetivou analisar o conhecimento e as percepções de agricultores em um assentamento rural pernambucano sobre cuidados básicos de bem viver na perspectiva da promoção da saúde após uma intervenção comunitária de letramento em saúde. Trata-se de um estudo quasi experimental, longitudinal, com abordagem quanti-qualitativa. Foi realizado um levantamento do conhecimento com um pré e pós-teste, através da estatística descritiva e medidas de hipótese. As percepções foram levantadas a partir do Discurso do Sujeito Coletivo (DSC). Observou-se associação estatística significante, p-valor de 0,041e 0,039, nas questões referentes a Infecções Sexualmente Transmissíveis e Saúde mental respectivamente, realizadas pelas técnicas de metodologia ativa de ensino. A partir das análises dos discursos foi possível observar o engajamento dos “promotores em saúde” na mediação social da vulnerabilidade pelo reconhecimento das intervenções e práticas educacionais, para o fortalecimento de suas vozes nas tomadas de decisões, e mudanças de comportamentos. A intervenção comunitária desenvolveu percepções empoderadoras a nível individual e coletivo, assim como no reconhecimento das potencialidades da comunidade.