Assessing the risks of hypertension amongst West African immigrants in the United States
1 Department of Public Health, Walden University, USA.
2 Biology, Associate Professor, Tuskegee University, USA.
Research Article
GSC Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2022, 19(03), 109–119.
Article DOI: 10.30574/gscbps.2022.19.3.0177
Publication history:
Received on 05 April 2022; revised on 10 May 2022; accepted on 12 May 2022
Abstract:
Background: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States(US) and Worldwide, and hypertension (HTN) is the main contributing factor. HTN causes a systemic increase in mean arterial pressure, and it occurs in response to both modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors. HTN is called the “silent killer” due to the absence of obvious signs and symptoms. Increased HTN has been at epic proportions among African-born immigrants(ABI), and African Americans(AA) in the US. Despite the prevalence of HTN among the ABI population, these group of immigrants are unrecognized and underrepresented because of one common racial identifier, AA. Although HTN can be managed, 60% of patients with HTN are not aware they have the condition.
Purpose: The purpose of this article is to elucidate the association of length of stay in the US and prevalence of HTN among ABI population in the US.
Methods: A secondary dataset was retrieved from the survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Health Institute Survey 2014 (n= 112053). We used descriptive and inferential statistics, binary logistic, and multiple regression analysis to quantitatively test the multiple variables and the hypotheses.
Results: There are statistically significant associations between physical inactivity, food insecurity, and length of stay in the US by the ABI population and HTN.
Conclusion: Acculturation plays a very critical role in the development of HTN among ABI populations that reside in the US greater than 5 years. HTN is preventable and manageable by adopting positive life-changing behaviors.
Keywords:
Essential Hypertension 1; Modifiable Risk Factor 2; Food Insecurity 3; Physical Inactivity 4; African-born Immigrants 5
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Copyright © 2022 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Liscense 4.0
