The Prevalence and Determinants of Hypertension among Bhutanese Monks in Thimphu Tashi-Choe-Dzong

Abstract

Bhutan has seen an  increasing trend of hypertension over last few years and the latest figures show that the prevalence rate of hypertension in Bhutan as per the hospital recorded figure was 310 per 10,000 population. However, there is no formal study being conducted on the prevalence among the Bhutanese population. The goal of the present study was to determine the prevalence and determinants of hypertension among Bhutanese monks residing in Thimphu Tashi-Choe-Dzong. The measurement tools used to collect the data for this study were self-administered questionnaire, measurement of blood pressure (2 times within 30 minutes), measurement of height and weight to determine Body Mass Index (BMI). The total sample size for this study consisted of 138 monks above age 20 and the prevalence rate of hypertension was 10.2%. This study has revealed that the age, total years as monk, monthly income, BMI and earlier history of hypertension were significantly associated with hypertension. However, the consumption of ‘suja’ (salted butter tea) and alcohol were found not associated with hypertension with p-value at α >0.05.