Prevalence of Hypertension in Military Personnel: A Study Conducted in Türkiye

Abstract

Abstract: Hypertension is a major global public health concern. There is a paucity of studies describing military populations with hypertension. We aimed to demonstrate Turkish military personnel with hypertension and review associated factors in a garrison of Diyarbakır City. This retrospective cross-sectional study comprised 22,141 individuals referred to an outpatient cardiology clinic between August 2016 and June 2022 with complaints of early morning headaches, abnormal heart rhythms, nosebleeds, visual problems, and buzzing in the ears. Sociodemographic characteristics were collected. Analyses of laboratory test findings and blood pressure measurements were conducted. The study comprised a total of 174 patients with an average age of 32.68±6.51 years. 94.8 percent of the patients were not drug users, and 68.3 percent had no strong family history. The prevalence of hydration habits (29.4%) and sleep disturbances (22.5%) were lower. According to body mass index (BMI), the rate of overweight was higher (56.8%). Most patients' educational status was bachelor’s degrees (46.5%). The smoking rate was high (73%). Body mass index was a statistically significant predictive factor of hypertension (OR [95% CI], 2.69 [1.0-7.17], p= 0.048). Physical exercise rate in the past three months was a statistically significant predictive factor for hypertension (OR [95%CI], 2.98 [1.42-6.23], P= 0.021). Hypertension was detected in 0.78 percent of all participants and was associated with being overweight and a lower frequency of physical exercise.