Prevalence of undiagnosed hypertension and prehypertension among bankers of Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT Objective Bankers lead a sedentary and highly stressful life that often leads to developing noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as hypertension, diabetes, mental disorders, etc. The study aims to assess the prevalence of undiagnosed hypertension and prehypertension among bankers in Bangladesh. Methods Data from 365 bankers from five public and private banks in Bangladesh were collected using a pretested semistructured questionnaire. Prehypertension was defined as having systolic blood pressure of 120-139 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure of 80-89 mmHg. Multivariate logistic regression models were created to investigate the factors associated with them. Results The prevalence of undiagnosed hypertension and prehypertension were 22.5% and 55.3%, respectively. Most of the bankers were males and 35-44 years of age. The risk of hypertension and prehypertension was significantly higher among males (OR, 16.59; OR, 6.42), longer duration of services (F, 3.56), prolonged working hours (OR, 3.8; OR, 3.09), smoking (OR, 6.18; OR, 3.43), overweight (OR, 6.81; OR, 2.41) and obese (OR, 8.94; OR, 3.36) bankers, respectively. After controlling for all confounders, the predictors of hypertension were males (aOR, 12.8; CI, 2.73-60.02), current smokers (aOR,2.87; CI, 1.03-8), overweight (aOR,5.11; CI, 1.46-17.93), and obesity (aOR, 9.59; CI, 2.41-38.22). For prehypertension, males (aOR, 9.72; CI, 3.06-30.87) and obesity (aOR, 3.95; CI, 1.52-10.25) were found as predictors. Conclusion More than three fourth of bankers in Bangladesh have either undiagnosed hypertension or prehypertension associated with several contributing factors to occur. A large-scale study is recommended to understand the clear picture of the overall NCD risk factors burden among bankers in Bangladesh. WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ON THIS TOPIC The prevalence of hypertension and prehypertension are already higher in Bangladesh. Sedentary lifestyles and work stress make bankers a vulnerable community to developing these NCD risk factors. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS Bankers have a higher prevalence of undiagnosed hypertension and prehypertension in Bangladesh. Several factors gender, long duration of service, prolonged working hours, and physical inactivity leading to overweight or obesity were found to be significant predictors of developing them. HOW THIS STUDY MIGHT AFFECT RESEARCH, PRACTICE OR POLICY This research suggests that it is now a national demand to conduct large scale surveys to assess the NCD risk factors burden among high risk occupational groups like bankers.