Health literacy and hypertension among middle and elderly aged population in Myanmar: A cross-sectional study

Authors

  • Nan Kyi Shwe Khon Kaen University
  • Wongsa Laohasiriwong Dean, Faculty of Public Health, Khon Kaen University, Thailand

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62992/ijphap.v1i1.13

Keywords:

Health literacy, Hypertension, Myanmar

Abstract

Background: Hypertension and cardiovascular diseases are highly prevalence and the leading causes of deaths in Myanmar. There are no previous studies that focus on health literacy and hypertension in Myanmar.
Objectives: This study aimed to identify the prevalence of hypertension and association between health literacy and hypertension among middle and elderly aged in Mandalay Region, Myanmar.
Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among middle aged and elderly population in 3 townships of Mandalay Region, Myanmar. A multiple logistics regression was used to determine the association between hypertension and determinant factors after controlling the effects of co-variates presenting adjusted OR and 95% confidence interval.
Results: Of the total 410 respondents, the prevalence of hypertension was 21.95 %. Where, 39.02% had inadequate health literacy level of hypertension. The factors significantly associated with hypertension were inadequate and problematic health literacy (AOR= 2.74, 95%CI: 1.43 - 5.21), age 50-59 years (AOR= 3.70, 95%CI: 1.71 -7.97), ≥ 60 (AOR= 4.48, 95%CI: 2.22 - 9.04), unemployed (AOR= 2.40, 95%CI: 1.23 - 4.68), overweight (AOR= 3.85, 95%CI: 1.84 – 8.07), and obesity (AOR= 6.00, 95%CI: 2.75 - 13.08), salty foods consumption (AOR= 3.12, 95%CI: 1.68 – 5.79), sweet fruits consumption (AOR= 4.00, 95%CI: 1.95 – 8.19), consuming food cooked with sesame or peanut oil (AOR= 2.03, 95%CI: 1.06 – 3.87) and alcohol consumption (AOR= 7.43, 95%CI: 3.56 - 15.49), no depression (CESD < 16) (AOR= 2.65, 95%CI: 1.37 – 5.09).
Conclusion: The concerned organizations should provide health literacy to address increasing pattern of hypertension and prevention and health promotion activities should be encouraged. Further studies with operational research or longitudinal study design are recommended to provide the better understanding of the relationship between health literacy, other factors, and hypertension among middle and elderly aged.

References

Hoel D, Howard RB, Gifford RW. Hypertension: stalking the silent killer. Postgraduate medicine. 1997;101(2):116-21.

WHO. Noncommunicable diseases country profiles 20182018.

WHO. World Health Organization, Hypertension fact sheet [Internet ]. 2021. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hypertension.

WHO. World Health Organization, Non communicable diseases, Fact Sheets 2021. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/noncommunicable-disease.

WHO. Report on National Survey of Diabetes Mellitus and Risk Factors for Non-communicable Diseases in Myanmar. 2014.

Haung Z, Hong SA, Tejativaddhana P, Puckpinyo A, Myint MNHA. Multiple self-care behaviors and associated factors in community-dwelling patients with hypertension in Myanmar. Nagoya Journal of Medical Science. 2020;82(2):363.

Sorensen K, Van den Broucke S, Fullam J, Doyle G, Pelikan J, Slonska Z, et al. Health literacy and public health: a systematic review and integration of definitions and models. BMC Public Health. 2012;12:80.

Oo WM, Khaing W, Mya KS, Moh MM. Health literacy-is it useful in prevention of behavioral risk factors of NCDs? Int J Res Med Sci. 2015;3(9):2331-6.

Htet AS, Bjertness MB, Oo WM, Kjøllesdal MK, Sherpa LY, Zaw KK, et al. Changes in prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of hypertension from 2004 to 2014 among 25-74-year-old citizens in the Yangon Region, Myanmar. BMC public health. 2017;17(1):1-12.

Bjertness MB, Htet AS, Meyer HE, Htike MMT, Zaw KK, Oo WM, et al. Prevalence and determinants of hypertension in Myanmar-a nationwide cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health. 2016;16(1):1-10.

Hsieh FY, Bloch DA, Larsen MD. A simple method of sample size calculation for linear and logistic regression. Statistics in medicine. 1998;17(14):1623-34.

Borges FM, Silva A, Lima LHO, Almeida PC, Vieira NFC, Machado ALG. Health literacy of adults with and without arterial hypertension. Revista brasileira de enfermagem. 2019;72(3):646-53.

Chobanian AV, Bakris GL, Black HR, Cushman WC, Green LA, Izzo Jr JL, et al. The seventh report of the joint national committee on prevention, detection, evaluation, and treatment of high blood pressure: the JNC 7 report. Jama. 2003;289(19):2560-71.

Tesfaye TD, Temesgen WA, Kasa AS, Yismaw YS. Prevalence and associated factors of hypertension in Amhara regional state city and its' surrounding rural districts: a community-based cross-sectional study. Afr Health Sci. 2019;19(3):2580-90.

Hasan M, Khan MSA, Sutradhar I, Hossain MM, Hossaine M, Yoshimura Y, et al. Prevalence and associated factors of hypertension in selected urban and rural areas of Dhaka, Bangladesh: findings from SHASTO baseline survey. BMJ open. 2021;11(1):e038975.

Chuka A, Gutema BT, Ayele G, Megersa ND, Melketsedik ZA, Zewdie TH. Prevalence of hypertension and associated factors among adult residents in Arba Minch Health and Demographic Surveillance Site, Southern Ethiopia. PloS one. 2020;15(8):e0237333.

Roba HS, Beyene AS, Mengesha MM, Ayele BH. Prevalence of hypertension and associated factors in Dire Dawa city, Eastern Ethiopia: a community-based cross-sectional study. International journal of hypertension. 2019;2019.

Asemu MM, Yalew AW, Kabeta ND, Mekonnen D. Prevalence and risk factors of hypertension among adults: A community based study in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. PloS one. 2021;16(4):e0248934.

Htun YM, Win KS, Naung Y, Wunna, Soe K. Prevalence, awareness and risk factors of hypertension in Hmawbi Cantonment Area, Yangon Region, Myanmar. South East Asia Journal of Public Health. 2016;6(1):20-6.

Gadisa LM. Prevalence and Associated Factors of Hypertension among Assosa Town, Western-Ethiopia, 2018. Clinics in Medicine. 2020;2(2).

Schwingshackl L, Schwedhelm C, Hoffmann G, Knüppel S, Iqbal K, Andriolo V, et al. Food groups and risk of hypertension: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies. Advances in nutrition. 2017;8(6):793-803.

Haile DG, Sharew NT, Mekuria AD, Abebe AM, Mezemir Y. Prevalence of Hypertension and Associated Factors Among Adults in Debre Berhan Town, North Shoa Zone, Ethiopia, 2020. Vascular health and risk management. 2021;17:203.

Ghosh S, Kumar M. Prevalence and associated risk factors of hypertension among persons aged 15–49 in India: a cross-sectional study. BMJ open. 2019;9(12):e029714.

Jackson CA, Pathirana T, Gardiner PA. Depression, anxiety and risk of hypertension in mid-aged women: a prospective longitudinal study. Journal of hypertension. 2016;34(10):1959-66.

Chajaee F, Pirzadeh A, Hasanzadeh A, Mostafavi F. Relationship between health literacy and knowledge among patients with hypertension in Isfahan province, Iran. Electronic physician. 2018;10(3):6470.

Costa VRS, Costa P, Nakano EY, Apolinário D, Santana ANC. Functional health literacy in hypertensive elders at primary health care. Revista Brasileira de Enfermagem. 2019;72:266-73.

Lor M, Koleck TA, Bakken S, Yoon S, Dunn Navarra A-M. Association between health literacy and medication adherence among Hispanics with hypertension. Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities. 2019;6(3):517-24.

Downloads

Published

01-12-2022

How to Cite

1.
Health literacy and hypertension among middle and elderly aged population in Myanmar: A cross-sectional study. IJPHAP [Internet]. 2022 Dec. 1 [cited 2025 Feb. 18];1(1). Available from: https://ijphap.com/index.php/home/article/view/13