Nearly 23 per cent of the urbanites in four city corporations of Bangladesh have hypertension, a common risk among city dwellers that leads to several life-threatening complications, according to a study.
The findings of the study "Hypertension and Obesity Load in Bangladesh: How Large is the Iceberg?" were unveiled in Dhaka Thursday.
The finding also reveals that 14 per cent of the people are at higher risk of being hypertensive.
A total of 48,644 participants from Narayanganj, Cumilla, Mymensingh and Rangpur measured their blood pressure, height and weight to calculate hypertension status and the body mass index.
The study was conducted under the Strengthening Urban Public Health System Project co-implemented by Save the Children Bangladesh and South Asia Field Epidemiology and Technology Network Bangladesh.
According to the study, the prevalence of hypertension is higher among men (24 per cent) than women (22 per cent).
Among the participants, the prevalence of obesity is 8 per cent, while almost 28 per cent of participants are overweight.
The prevalence of obesity was higher for female participants (10 per cent) compared to male ones (7 per cent).
