May Measurement Month 2021: an analysis of blood pressure screening results from Albania
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
This article describes the May Measurement Month (MMM) 2021 campaign, which was the fourth time this annual hypertension screening campaign was conducted in Albania, a Mediterranean country in southeastern Europe. The MMM21 was conducted during the period of 28 September-30 November 2021, in 32 sites across several districts of Albania. Overall, 11 788 participants aged ≥18 years were included (63% women), with a mean age of 49.7 ± 14.9 years. Blood pressure (BP) was measured three times with Omron sphygmomanometers (model M3, Omron Healthcare, Kyoto, Japan), which are automatic upper arm BP monitors. Hypertension was defined as SBP ≥ 140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥ 90 mmHg (based on the mean of the second and third recordings for SBP and DBP, respectively) or on antihypertensive medication. Self-reported data included pre-existing conditions, physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption, COVID-19 testing, and use of contraception in women. Overall, 47.3% of screened participants had hypertension. Of those with hypertension, 70.1% were aware of their condition and 67.0% were on antihypertensive medication. About half (49.3%) of participants on antihypertensive medication had controlled BP (<140/90 mmHg). On average, BP was higher in those on antihypertensive medication and with increasing alcohol intake but lower in those with a history of stroke and those with higher levels of physical activity, previous positive COVID-19 test, and contraception use in women. In Albania, the MMM campaign continues to contribute to the early detection of hypertension among adults. Hence, it constitutes a valuable opportunistic screening instrument among other routine tools applied in the general Albanian population.
Date Issued
2024-06
Date Acceptance
2024-07-01
Citation
European Heart Journal Supplements, 2024, 26 (Suppl 3), pp.iii5-iii7
ISSN
1554-2815
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Start Page
iii5
End Page
iii7
Journal / Book Title
European Heart Journal Supplements
Volume
26
Issue
Suppl 3
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/39055588
Subjects
Albania
Blood pressure
Control
Hypertension
Screening
Treatment
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England
Date Publish Online
2024-07-24