Hypertension has become an important public health
problem for sub-Sahara Africa. In a previous nationwide
study, we observed a high degree of geographical variation
in the prevalence of diastolic hypertension. Geographical
variation provides essential background information
for the development of community randomised
trials could suggest aetiological mechanisms, inform
control strategies and prompt further research
questions. We designed a follow-up study from the nine
high-prevalence communities, and from 18 communities
where hypertension was found least prevalent
(controls). In each community, 50 households were
randomly selected. In each household, an (unrelated)
man and woman were enrolled. The risk for hypertension
(blood pressure 160/95 mm Hg) was higher in the
high prevalence communities compared to the control
villages (adjusted OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.3–2.2). The
observed coefficient of variation in hypertension prevalence,
k, was 0.30. Thus we confirmed significant geographical
variation in prevalence of hypertension over
time, which has implications for planning of interventions