title: Current Prevalence Pattern of Hypertension in Nigeria: A Systematic Review.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The global burden of hypertension and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is rapidly increasing, and the African continent seems to be the most affected region in the world. The prevalence of hypertension in Nigeria forms a substantial portion of the total burden in Africa because of the large population of the country currently estimated to be over 170 million.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this systematic review is to summarise up to date data on the prevalence and distribution of hypertension in Nigeria from prevalence studies.
  
  
  METHODS
  A search of the following databases: PubMed, EMBase and WHO cardiovascular InfoBase from 1968 till date was conducted to identify studies which provide estimates of prevalence of hypertension in Nigeria.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The search yielded a total of 1748 hits from which 45 relevant studies met the inclusion criteria for the review. The overall crude prevalence of hypertension ranged from 0.1% (95%CI:-0.1 to 0.3) to 17.5% (95% CI: 13.6 to 21.4) in children and 2.1% (95%CI: 1.4 to 2.8) to 47.2% (95%CI: 43.6 to 50.8) in adults depending on the benchmark used for diagnosis of hypertension, the setting in which the study was conducted, sex and ethnic group. The crude prevalence of hypertension ranged from 6.2% (95%CI: 4.0 to 8.4) to 48.9% (95%CI: 42.3 to 55.5) for men and 10% (95%CI: 8.1 to 12) to 47.3% (95%CI: 43 to 51.6%) for women. In most studies, prevalence of hypertension was higher in males than females. In addition, prevalence across urban and rural ranged from 9.5% (95%CI: 13.6 to 21.4) to 51.6% (95%CI: 49.8 to 53.4) and 4.8% (95%CI: 2.9 to 6.7) to 43% (95%CI: 42.1 to 43.9) respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The prevalence of hypertension is high among the Nigerian population. Appropriate interventions need to be developed and implemented to reduce the preventable burden of hypertension especially at Primary Health Care Centres which is the first point of call for over 55% of the Nigerian population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Primary Care and Population Health, University College London Medical School (Royal Free Campus), Rowland Hill street, London, NW3 2PF, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: James Tosin
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Akinlua
authors.affiliation: Department of Primary Care and Population Health, University College London Medical School (Royal Free Campus), Rowland Hill street, London, NW3 2PF, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Meakin
authors.affiliation: College of Science and Technology, University of Salford, Salford Crescent, Manchester, M5 4WT, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Aminu Mahmoud
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Umar
authors.affiliation: Department of Primary Care and Population Health, University College London Medical School (Royal Free Campus), Rowland Hill street, London, NW3 2PF, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Nick
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Freemantle
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002648:Child; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005843:Geography; D006761:Hospitals / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D017594:Publication Bias