A Comparative Study of the Prevalence of Hypertension and Electrocardiographic Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in Oil-and Gas-Polluted Communities in the Niger Delta Region.

Background: Hypertension with its associated sequelae is the most important risk factor for cardiovascular disease and the leading cause of mortality worldwide. The multifactorial associations of environmental influence on blood pressure seem to play a key role in the etiopathogenesis of hypertension and should be more intently investigated.

Objective: This study evaluated the prevalence of hypertension and electrocardiographic left ventricular hypertrophy of residents in three oil producing (exposed) communities in Rivers State (Mbodo-Aluu, K-Dere and Engeni) and a non-oil producing (control) community in Anambra State (Mgbeke-Uli).

Methods: A total of 570 subjects were recruited for this study. Sociodemographic, anthropometric, electrocardiographic parameters, and blood pressure were obtained from the subjects in a standardized manner.

Results: Showed that the mean value of the systolic and diastolic blood pressures of subjects in the exposed communities were higher (p<0.001) than those of the controls. Furthermore, the prevalence of hypertension and left ventricular hypertrophy in exposed communities were higher (p<0.001) when compared with the control.