Soldiers’ Hypertension Prevalence in Military Garrisons in the City of Conakry

Abstract

High blood pressure (HBP) is a public health problem worldwide. The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence of hypertension in military garrisons in Conakry, the capital. Material and Methods : The study was done in military garrisons. The data concern 1025 soldiers. This prospective and cross-sectional study took place from 13 November 2014 to 13 February 2015. Only the military who had agreed to participate in the study were included. Sociodemographic, clinical data and urine dipsticks were collected. Results: Among 1025 soldiers, 222 cases of HPB were observed, that was 21.66%. They were 193 men (86.94%) and 29 women (13.06%). The mean age was 46.05 years (range: 18 - 77 years). HPB cases were discovered in 155 soldiers (69.82%) in random observations. Following the grade of hypertension: 124 were of grade I, 62 of grade II, 35 of grade III and 1 case of isolated systolic hypertension was identified. Urinary dipstick tests showed that, 3 patients had proteinuria, 26 patients suffered from leucocyturia, 11 patients suffered from glycosuria and 1 case of hematuria was also identified. More than half of the soldiers (41%) were in the army. Officers were strongly affected (80.18%), followed by non-commissioned officers (17.12%) and finally enlisted men (2.70%). Risk factors were multiple: 78.82% ate very salty food; emotional stress; physical inactivity was observed in over half of the cases. Conclu sion: This study gives an overall picture of the prevalence of hypertension in the military in Guinea. The discovery of the symptom lies on the systematic measurement of blood pressure.