Practices of Adults in a Periurban Community of the Ho Municipality on Prevention of Hypertension

Table 4

Lifestyle practices related to hypertension.

Variables	Parameter	Frequency	Percentage
Known hypertensive	No	239	81.3
	Yes	55	18.7
When diagnosed	More than a month	6	10.9
	Less than a year	8	14.5
	More than a year	41	74.5
On medication	No	10	18.2
	Yes	45	81.8
Taking medication	No	16	35.6
	Yes	29	64.4
Reasons for drug noncompliance	Cannot afford medication	6	37.5
	Medications are bitter	3	18.8
	Tired of taking them	7	43.7
Last time checked blood pressure	Less than a month	17	30.9
	Less than a year	15	27.3
	Do not remember	23	41.8
Taking herbal medication	No	37	67.3
	Yes	18	32.7
Duration of taking herbal preparation	About a month ago	5	27.8
	Since diagnoses	8	44.4
	About a year ago	5	27.8
Taking herbal medication with prescribed drugs	No	8	44.4
	Yes	10	55.6
Informed doctor on herbal medication use	No	11	61.1
	Yes	7	38.9
Improvement since taking herbal medication	Yes, witnessed significant improvement	12	66.7
	Yes, fair improvement	5	27.8
	No improvement	1	5.6
Seeking cure through prayer camps	No	290	98.6
	Yes	4	1.4
Outcome of seeking a cure from prayer camps	Was cured	1	25.0
	Nothing changed	3	75.0
Lifestyle changes to prevent hypertension	No	23	7.8
	Yes	271	92.2
Healthy lifestyle important for preventing illness	No	6	2.0
	Yes	288	98.0
Changing lifestyle to prevent hypertension	No	15	5.1
	Yes	279	94.9
Smoking habits	Yes	11	3.7
	No	283	96.3
Duration of smoking	Less than a year	6	54.5
	3-4 years	1	9.1
	More than 4 years	4	36.4
Alcohol use	No	181	61.6
	Yes	113	38.4
Frequently exercised	No	89	30.3
	Yes	205	69.7
Frequency of exercise	Occasionally	125	61.0
	Often	79	38.5
	Not at all	1	.5
Eating late in the night	Yes, occasionally	113	38.4
	Yes, often	74	25.2
	No, not all	107	36.4