The relationship between lifestyle variables, blood pressure and dietary habits of male adult miners in Ghana

Abstract

Hypertension is a major public health problem in both the developed and the developing world and it is mostly associated among individuals, who indulge in unhealthy lifestyles and certain dietary habits. The study was a cross-sectional, involving 320 male miners in the Obuasi municipality. The study was conducted to generate data on the relationship between lifestyle variables, blood pressure and dietary habits of male adult miners. Cluster and simple random sampling techniques were used to select the respondents from their residential areas. Chi-square test was used to test for significance between lifestyle variables (alcohol intake, smoking and physical activity), blood pressure and dietary habits in male adult miners. The results indicated that about 41.6% of the respondents were hypertensive while the prevalence of smoking, alcohol intake and less than 8 h of sleep a day were 42.5, 66.9 and 59.7%, respectively. Less than half of the respondents (32.8 and 12.8%) participated in brisk walking and aerobic exercise, respectively. Physical activity level, alcohol intake and smoking did not indicate statistical association with blood pressure (p>0.05). © 2012 Asian Network for Scientific Information.