Lifestyle practices among hypertensive patients attending the Family Medicine Clinic in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria

Introduction: Hypertension is a major modifiable cause of cardiovascular disease affecting more than one billion people globally.  Lifestyle modifications form the corner stone for the mitigation of identified risk factors and the prevention and control of hypertension. Some of these factors include cessation of cigarette smoking, weight reduction, increase in physical activity, moderation of dietary sodium and alcohol intake and following the DASH eating plan. They may also facilitate drug step-down and drug withdrawal in highly motivated individuals. The objective of this study was to determine the extent to which diagnosed hypertensive patients modify their lifestyle.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study among 230 patients with essential hypertension in the Family Medicine clinic in a tertiary hospital using a structured pretested questionnaire.

Results: Most of the participants (149; 64.8%) were educated on lifestyle practices by health workers. Abstaining from tobacco products (230; 100%) and drinking alcohol (230; 100%) were the most used lifestyle practices. Dietary fruit consumption (93; 40.4%) and engagement in physical activity for thirty minutes per day (35; 15.2%) were the least used lifestyle practices.

Conclusion: Health workers were the main source of education of the participants on lifestyle modification. Use of alcohol and consumption of tobacco products were not practiced by all the study participants. Dietary fruit consumption and engagement in physical activity were not popular lifestyle practices.  It is recommended that primary care clinicians inquire about unhealthy lifestyles during clinical consultations as well as motivate hypertensive patients to adopt and adhere to appropriate lifestyle modifications.