Prevalence of hypertension and its association with certain demographic characteristics of blood donors in Ilam, Iran

Introduction: Hypertension is described as one of the risk factors for cardiovascular disease. The prevalence of hypertension is growing among developing countries. In this study, the prevalence of hypertension was studied in individuals who referred to blood transfusion center of Ilam city. Materials and methods: The present descriptive analytical study was performed based on available data. The sample files were related to 4005 cases. Blood pressure was measured by using the standard method 15 minutes after the individuals attained to blood transfusion center. Data by data were analyzed by using SPSS software and appropriate statistical tests including chi-square and ANOVA. P<0.05 was considered as significant. Results: Systolic and diastolic blood pressure were significantly associated with age (P<0.001). There was a significant correlation between systolic blood pressure with gender (P<0.05), but there was no association between diastolic blood pressure with gender. Men significantly had higher systolic blood pressure than women (P<0.05). In addition, in both genders among aged over 40, systolic blood pressure was significantly lower, compared to aged less than 40 (P<0.05). Conclusion: Overall, this study demonstrated that prevalence of hypertension is high in Ilam city and a detailed applicable plan in order to change in lifestyle among people to controlling and reducing of hypertension.