Prevalence of Undiagnosed Hypertension and its Associated Factors Among Adult Peoples Living in Enemor Woreda, South Ethiopia, 2021. Community Based Cross Sectional Study

Background: Hypertension is defined as two or more readings of systolic blood pressure measurement of 130 mm Hg or higher or diastolic blood pressure measurement of 80 mm Hg or higher. In the early stages, symptoms of HTN are often not detectable and thus many people with the disease are left undiagnosed. Undiagnosed HTN increases the risk of complications such as renal failure, myocardial infarction, heart failure, stroke and premature death. There was a high prevalence of undiagnosed HTN among adolescents. Objective: To assess the prevalence of undiagnosed hypertension and its associated factors among adult peoples living in Enemor Woreda, Ethiopia, 2021. Method: A community based cross-sectional study design was conducted from April to May, 2021. Data were collected using a structured self-administered English version questionnaire; which translated to the national Amharic language. The data were collected from 630 households using systematic random sampling technique at K=7. The data were entered to epi data version 3.4 and analyzed by SPSS version 26. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression with 95% CI was hold to determine the significance of variables. Result: In this finding 260 (45.3%) of respondents were identified as having undiagnosed hypertension. Respondents having sedentary life style (AOR=2.24, 95%CI (1.37, 3.67)], BMI ≥25 (AOR=2.42, 95%CI (1.43, 4.09)], smokers [AOR: 0.45, 95%CI(0.28, 0.73)], health seeking behavior [AOR: 0.41, 95%CI(0.25, 0.66)], monthly income <2000 ETB [AOR: 0.68, 95%CI(0.48,0.97)] and respondents dietary habit Enjera with Wot [AOR: 0.57, 95%CI(0.40, 0.83)] were significantly associated with undiagnosed hypertension. Conclusion: The overall prevalence of undiagnosed hypertension was 45.3%. respondents with BMI kg/m2 >25, having sedentary life style, cigarette smoking, health seeking behavior, dietary habit and monthly income were significance predictors of undiagnosed HTN; therefore, people should follow Life style modification and have health seeking behavior to early detect and manage undiagnosed HTN with in the community.