Risk Factors associated with Hypertension among Older Adults: Evidence from Ghana

Abstract

The growing burden of hypertension and other non-communicable diseases poses a critical public health challenge globally, with pronounced impacts on the health of older people particularly in low and middle-income countries. Hypertension tends to increase with age, and in Ghana, the increasing prevalence of hypertension coupled with a growing aged population has worrying implications for the health and well-being of older people. Existing literature explains that biological factors such as age and gender, social factors like marital status and education level, and lifestyle factors such as smoking and alcohol intake, all impact hypertension risk. The study sought to investigate the risk factors associated with hypertension among older adults as well as assess whether engaging in multiple lifestyle choices increased their hypertension risk. To achieve this, the study used the Biopsychosocial model of health as a guiding theoretical framework. The study also used datasets from the 2014/2015 World Health Organization’s Study on Global Ageing and Adults Health (SAGE) Wave 2 and analysed both self-reported and field-measured hypertension to achieve a broad-based examination of hypertension prevalence and risk factors. The study employed the logistic regression estimation technique, and the findings revealed a 13.68 percent and 33.93 percent prevalence of self-reported and field-measured hypertension among older adults aged 50 years and above in Ghana. The study also found that demographic, socioeconomic and lifestyle factors increased the likelihood of hypertension among older adults and further discovered that engaging in multiple lifestyle factors increases the risk of hypertension for older adults. The implications of the results reaffirm the significant burden of hypertension and suggest the need for enhancing health interventions, including but not limited to promoting health screenings, weight management programmes, improving health systems, and widespread public education initiatives, led by the Ministry of Health.