Hypertension and Related Factors in the Ba Na Ethnic Group Aged 25 and Over in Kon Tum City, Vietnam: Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Hypertension has become a salient public health issue on a global scale, affecting more than one billion people worldwide. In Vietnam, and specifically in Kon Tum prov-ince, many studies on hypertension have been conducted, mainly focusing on Kinh people, the majority ethnic group in Vietnam. Very few hypertension studies have focused on ethnic minority groups. This study aims to determine the prevalence of hypertension and identify related factors in mem-bers of the Ba Na ethnic group, aged 25 years and older, in Kon Tum City, Kon Tum province, Vietnam, in 2019. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional analysis design was carried out among 450 Ba Na ethnic people aged 25 years and older living in Kon Tum province. Results: The study results indicated that the rate of hypertension in the study population was 30.89%. Increasing age was associated with increasing hypertension, with the highest rate found in the ≥ 65 age group at 66.67%. The lowest rate of hypertension in the group was found among participants aged 25-34 years at 9.66%. In addition to age (>65 years), factors associated with hypertension included BMI (obesity), a family history of hypertension, smoking cigarettes, number of cigarettes smoked per day (>10 cigarettes/day), and having diabetes. Conclusion: This is one of the very few studies conducted to measure the prevalence of hyperten-sion in ethnic minority populations in Vietnam. It is necessary to implement community interven-tions to reduce the exposure to the risk factors of hypertension for the Ba Na ethnic people in Kon Tum, Vietnam.