Health habits and risk factors among Omanis with hypertension

OBJECTIVE: To determine the health habits and risk factors among Omanis with hypertension

METHODS: The study was conducted at the Medical Unit of the Royal Hospital, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman during the period from January 2003 to September 2003. A cohort of Omani hypertensive patients (43 male and 57 female) with a mean aged of 51.47 years was randomly selected. All participants were interviewed with a questionnaire for 15-20 minutes. Medical records of the participants were reviewed to determine the presence of associated complications as well as other unrelated chronic health problems based on the diagnosis made by the treating physicians. This was in addition to the measurement and recording of blood pressure, height and weight.

RESULTS: The study revealed that the prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension was 73%. The main cause of uncontrolled hypertension was due to unhealthy lifestyle such as more consumption of fatty food and salty food, little physical activity, obesity and age. The study also revealed that there was a significant difference between hypertension and family history, stress, drinking more coffee, physical activity and presence of associate clinical conditions including cardiac and renal.

CONCLUSION: Our study shows that lifestyle should be encouraged along with hypertensive therapy as blood pressure control cannot be achieved without reducing salt and fat, maintaining an ideal weight, and maintaining regular exercise. Therefore, it is recommended that the need for effective nursing intervention aimed at increasing levels of awareness of complying with lifestyle modifications, along with hypertensive therapy and family enforcement should be encouraged.