Is gender a factor in socioeconomic disparities in undiagnosed, and untreated hypertension in Bangladesh?

Abstract

Abstract Our objectives were to ascertain the following: (1) the prevalence and socioeconomic distribution of hypertension (HTN), undiagnosed for HTN, and untreated cases of HTN‐diagnosed individuals; (2) the relationship between SES and the prevalence of HTN, undiagnosed for HTN, and untreated for HTN; and (3) whether sex moderate this association. Data from the 2017–18 Bangladesh Demographic Health Survey were used. 11,776 participants who were 18 years of age or older responded to our analysis. The age‐adjusted prevalence of HTN, undiagnosed for HTN, and untreated cases was 25.1%, 57.2%, and 12.3%. Compared to females, males were less likely to have HTN but more likely to have undiagnosed HTN. People in the rich SES groups had a higher odd of (adjusted odds ratio [aoR] 1.25; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.08–3.45) of having HTN compared to those in the poor SES group. When compared to individuals in the poor SES group, those in the rich SES group had lower odds of undiagnosed (aoR 0.57; 95% CI 0.44–0.74) and untreated (aoR 0.56; 95% CI 0.31–0.98) for HTN. Sex moderated the association between SES and HTN prevalence, which showed that men from rich SES were more likely to suffer from HTN than men from poor SES. According to this study, the government and other pertinent stakeholders should concentrate more on developing suitable policy measures to reduce the risk of HTN, particularly for men in rich socioeconomic groups. They should also concentrate on screening and diagnosing HTN in socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, regardless of sex.

Keywords

• Bangladesh
• hypertension
• SES
• sex
• undiagnosed
• untreated