Table 3.

Determinants of hypertension in workers in West Africa.

Study population	Location	Determinants	Age	Sex	Physical activity	Obesity or adiposity	Alcohol	SES	Others	Variables in model	Type of analysis
Civil servants [11]	Benin City	BMI (OR 2.88 Tertile 3 versus Tertile 1), age (OR 10-year groups 1.42), alcohol drinking (OR 1.85), and high SES (OR 2.62) were all independent risk factors for HTN in men but not education. Only BMI (OR 13.2) related to HTN in women.	Age [OR 10-year groups 1.42, 95% CI 1.03–1.96] in men; not significant in women	—	—	BMI [OR 2.88 Tertile 3 versus Tertile 1, 95% CI 1.6–5.1 in men]; OR 13.2, 95% CI 1.5–113.0 in women	Alcohol drinking (OR 1.85, 95% CI 1.15–2.98) in men; not significant in women	Senior staff in men (OR 2.62, 95% CI 1.61–4.29); not significant in women	—	Staff grade, BMI, alcohol drinking, and age in 10-year intervals.	Logistic regression
Civil servants [10]	Sokoto	Only age group and BMI tertile in men and sodium excretion were statistically significant. No significant association with sodium excretion or SES in men or with age, BMI, or staff grade in women.	10-year age intervals OR = 2.4 (95% CI 1.8–3.4) in men			Tertile 3 OR = 2.9 (1.6–5.1) in men; OR = 13.2 (1.5–113.0) in women	Alcohol drinker OR = 1.9 (1.2–3.0) in men	Senior staff OR = 2.6 (1.6–4.3) in men	Potassium excretion not significant	Age group 10-year groups, BMI, sodium excretion, and staff status.	Logistic regression
Civil servants [18]	Ibadan	For both sexes, normalized WHR, plasma glucose, age, and family history of diabetes. Only age predicted HTN in women.	OR = 1.1	NS	—	WHR, OR = 1.35	—	—	Height not associated with BP or HTN	Age, family history of diabetes, sex, plasma glucose, and normalized WHR.	Logistic regression
Civil servants [9]	Accra	Age group > 35 years, male sex, and physical inactivity	Age group 35–44 years OR = 3.8 (2.0–7.4); 45–54 years OR = 11.3 (6.4–21.5); ≥55  years OR = 15.0 (8.2–29.8)	Female sex OR = 0.71 (0.50–0.99)	Moderate OR = 0.7 (0.5–1.0); intense OR = 0.6 (0.3–1.2)	NS	NS			Sex, age groups, BMI, physical activity, and alcohol use.	Logistic regression
Civil servants [65]	Accra	Positive graded association between staff grade and HTN and current wealth when adjusted for age and sex. Statistically significant associations are lost when BMI is controlled for.						NS		Age, sex, preadult and current wealth, employment grade, level of education, and BMI.	Logistic regression with age as continuous variable
Civil servants [13]	Kaduna City	Age group ≥ 40 years, family history (OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.1–2.1).	AOR ≥ 40 years = 6.7 (95% CI 4.1–11.0) compared with age group < 40 years						Marital status not significantly associated with HTN	Age, marital status, and family history	Logistic regression
Health workers in a Teaching Hospital [27]	Jos City	Alcohol (OR 2.58, p = 0.03) and obesity (OR 3.37, p = 0.006) were found to be independently associated with hypertension.				OR = 3.37, p = 0.006	OR = 2.58, p = 0.03			Age, sex, BMI, and alcohol	Logistic regression
Health workers [31]	Yenagoa	Age groups > 30 years.	AOR 30–45 years = 4.147 (95% CI 1.25–13.67), > 45 years = 5.45 (95% CI 1.46–22.80) compared with age group < 30 years	NS	—	Truncal obesity (WC > 102 cm in men, >88 cm in females) versus normal WC; AOR = 3.64 (95% CI 1.15–9.06). BMI and WHR = NS	—	Educational level: NS	Marital status: NS	Age, sex, marital status, level of education, family history of HTN, past history of diabetes, family history of diabetes, history of alcohol use, smoking, BMI, WC, and WHR.	Logistic regression
Male factory workers [39]	Ibadan	Education associated with BP, after adjusting for age, BMI, pulse, and alcohol consumption.								Age, BMI, pulse rate, and current alcohol drinking.	Multiple logistic analysis of covariance
Market workers (traders and artisans) [36]	Enugu	Age, BMI, and alcohol consumption predicted HTN.	Increasing age	Not significantly associated with HTN		Significant factor	Significant factor	—		Age, sex, smoking, snuff tobacco, alcohol, BMI, WHR, and educational status.	Multiple linear regression

HTN: hypertension; OR: odds ratio; SES: socioeconomic status.