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Multicenter Study
. 2024 Jun 6;19(1):50.
doi: 10.5334/gh.1332. eCollection 2024.

The Burden of Cardiovascular Disease Attributable to Hypertension in Nigeria: A Modelling Study Using Summary-Level Data

Adedayo E Ojo  1   2 , Dike B Ojji  2   3 , Diederick E Grobbee  1 , Mark D Huffman  4   5   6 , Sanne A E Peters  1   7
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

The Burden of Cardiovascular Disease Attributable to Hypertension in Nigeria: A Modelling Study Using Summary-Level Data

Adedayo E Ojo et al. Glob Heart. .

Abstract

Background: Globally, cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of mortality and disability, with hypertension being the single most important modifiable risk factor. Hypertension is responsible for about 18% of global deaths from CVD, of which African regions are disproportionately affected, especially sub-Saharan Africa. This study assessed the burden of major CVD subtypes attributable to hypertension in Nigeria.

Methods: The population attributable fractions (PAF) for myocardial infarction, all strokes, ischaemic stroke and intracerebral haemorrhagic stroke attributable to hypertension in Nigeria were calculated using published results from the INTERHEART and INTERSTROKE studies and prevalence estimates of hypertension in Nigeria. PAF estimates were obtained for age, sex, and geopolitical zones.

Results: Overall, hypertension contributed to 13.2% of all myocardial infarctions and 24.6% of all strokes, including 21.6% of all ischaemic strokes and 33.1% of all intracerebral haemorrhagic strokes. Among men aged ≤55 years, the PAF for myocardial infarction ranged from 11.7% (North-West) to 14.6% (South-East), while in older men, it spanned 9.2% (North-West) to 11.9% (South-East). Among women aged ≤65 years, PAF varied from 18.6% (South-South) to 20.8% (South-East and North-Central), and among women aged >65 years, it ranged from 10.4% (South-South) to 12.7% (South-East).

Conclusion: Hypertension is a key contributor to the burden of CVD in Nigeria. Understanding the burden of hypertension in the Nigerian population overall and key subgroups is crucial to developing and implementing contextualised health policies to reduce the burden of CVD. Public health interventions and policies centred on hypertension will play a critical role in potentially alleviating the burden of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in Nigeria.

Keywords: Hypertension; Nigeria; cardiovascular disease; population attributable fraction; prevalence; stroke.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no competing interests to declare.

Figures

Map of Nigeria showing the six geopolitical zones, 36 states, and Federal Capital Territory [6]
Figure 1
Map of Nigeria showing the six geopolitical zones, 36 states, and Federal Capital Territory [6].
Prevalence of hypertension in the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria [14]
Figure 2
Prevalence of hypertension in the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria [14].
Prevalence of hypertension in the rural, urban and mixed settings in Nigeria [14]
Figure 3
Prevalence of hypertension in the rural, urban and mixed settings in Nigeria [14].
Age-specific population attributable risk of hypertension for the burden of myocardial infarction, all strokes and major stroke types in 1995 (top) and 2020 (bottom)
Figure 4
Age-specific population attributable risk of hypertension for the burden of myocardial infarction, all strokes and major stroke types in 1995 (top) and 2020 (bottom).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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