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. 2019 Nov 12;6(2):2055102919885752.
doi: 10.1177/2055102919885752. eCollection 2019 Jul-Dec.

Psychosocial factors and hypertension prevalence among Ghanaians in Ghana and Ghanaian migrants in Europe: The RODAM study

Raphael Baffour Awuah  1 , Ama de-Graft Aikins  1   2 , F Nii-Amoo Dodoo  1   3 , Karlijn Ac Meeks  4 , Eric Jaj Beune  4 , Kerstin Klipstein-Grobusch  5 , Juliet Addo  6 , Liam Smeeth  6 , Silver K Bahendeka  7 , Charles Agyemang  4
Affiliations

Psychosocial factors and hypertension prevalence among Ghanaians in Ghana and Ghanaian migrants in Europe: The RODAM study

Raphael Baffour Awuah et al. Health Psychol Open. .

Abstract

Despite progress made to prevent and control hypertension, its prevalence has persisted in many countries. This study examined the associations between psychosocial factors and hypertension among Ghanaian non-migrants and migrants. Data were drawn from the Research on Obesity and Diabetes among African Migrants (RODAM) project. Findings show that among migrant women, those who experienced periods of stress at home/work had higher odds of hypertension. Among non-migrants, women with depression symptoms were more likely to be hypertensive. Furthermore, there was a positive association between negative life events and hypertension among non-migrant men. The findings highlight the importance of psychosocial factors in addressing hypertension prevalence in Ghanaian populations.

Keywords: Ghanaian migrants in Europe; Ghanaians in Ghana; depression symptoms; hypertension; negative life events; stress.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

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