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The thesis offers the following contributions to the epidemiology of hypertension in Canada: 1.The first manuscript uses cross-sectional data from the 2007-2009 Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) to compare the prevalence of controlled hypertension between people with and without diabetes. Of the 74% of Canadians with diabetes who had hypertension, 56% (95% CI: 45%-66%) had controlled blood pressure compared to 64% (95% CI: 58%-69%) of Canadians without diabetes. Among people taking medication, individuals with diabetes were less likely to have controlled hypertension (ORadjusted: 0.3; 95% CI: 0.2-0.6). 2.The objective of the second manuscript was to determine, among Canadians with hypertension, whether individuals with diabetes were less likely than those without to recall health professional advice for healthy behaviours and whether receipt of such advice influences behaviour, using cross-sectional data from the 2009 Survey on Living with Chronic Diseases in Canada (SLCDC). Canadians with diabetes were more likely than those without to recall advice to control/lose weight (81% vs. 66%), exercise (79% vs. 68%), limit alcohol (78% vs. 55%) and modify diet (70% vs. 61%) but not limit salt (65% vs. 64%). Both groups were equally likely to report following advice, with receipt of advice positively associated with engagement in healthy behaviours. 3. The third manuscript describes knowledge of blood pressure targets in Canadians with hypertension using cross-sectional data from the 2009 SLCDC. Knowledge of blood pressure targets was low, with 28% and 32% of Canadians with and without diabetes reporting having discussed a blood pressure target and reporting a target in line with clinical practice guidelines. 4.The fourth manuscript validates an existing self-reported blood pressure control question in a sample of 161 patients with hypertension in Kingston. In people with and without diabetes, the question had sensitivities of 83% ± 11% and 78% ± 10% and specificities of 30% ±19% and 58% ± 21%, respectively. 5.The final manuscript tests a method designed to account for misclassification in epidemiologic studies, using data from the CHMS. The method was found to perform inconsistently in multivariate contexts and introduced bias when minor differential misclassification was ignored. / Thesis (Ph.D, Community Health & Epidemiology) -- Queen's University, 2013-11-14 09:55:12.161

The thesis offers the following contributions to the epidemiology of hypertension in Canada: 1.The first manuscript uses cross-sectional data from the 2007-2009 Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) to compare the prevalence of controlled hypertension between people with and without diabetes. Of the 74% of Canadians with diabetes who had hypertension, 56% (95% CI: 45%-66%) had controlled blood pressure compared to 64% (95% CI: 58%-69%) of Canadians without diabetes. Among people taking medication, individuals with diabetes were less likely to have controlled hypertension (ORadjusted: 0.3; 95% CI: 0.2-0.6). 2.The objective of the second manuscript was to determine, among Canadians with hypertension, whether individuals with diabetes were less likely than those without to recall health professional advice for healthy behaviours and whether receipt of such advice influences behaviour, using cross-sectional data from the 2009 Survey on Living with Chronic Diseases in Canada (SLCDC). Canadians with diabetes were more likely than those without to recall advice to control/lose weight (81% vs. 66%), exercise (79% vs. 68%), limit alcohol (78% vs. 55%) and modify diet (70% vs. 61%) but not limit salt (65% vs. 64%). Both groups were equally likely to report following advice, with receipt of advice positively associated with engagement in healthy behaviours. 3. The third manuscript describes knowledge of blood pressure targets in Canadians with hypertension using cross-sectional data from the 2009 SLCDC. Knowledge of blood pressure targets was low, with 28% and 32% of Canadians with and without diabetes reporting having discussed a blood pressure target and reporting a target in line with clinical practice guidelines. 4.The fourth manuscript validates an existing self-reported blood pressure control question in a sample of 161 patients with hypertension in Kingston. In people with and without diabetes, the question had sensitivities of 83% ± 11% and 78% ± 10% and specificities of 30% ±19% and 58% ± 21%, respectively. 5.The final manuscript tests a method designed to account for misclassification in epidemiologic studies, using data from the CHMS. The method was found to perform inconsistently in multivariate contexts and introduced bias when minor differential misclassification was ignored. / Thesis (Ph.D, Community Health & Epidemiology) -- Queen's University, 2013-11-14 09:55:12.161

Despite the evident improvements in the awareness of hypertension among the adult population in the United States, disparities remain in the burden of the disease, its treatment efficacy, and its control when data are compared along age, gender, and race. The purpose of this study was to determine the strength of the relationship between blood pressure control and prescription medication and lifestyle modification (smoking cessation, changes in eating habits, and weight loss). The target population were adult young Black men, and the control variables were age, low socioeconomic status (SES), and disparities in health care. A convenience sample of Black men (age 16-45 years) was obtained (N = 297) from the 2013-2014 NHANES dataset, and bivariate and multiple regressions were conducted after the assumptions were satisfied. The results indicated a statistically significant relationship between prescription medication and systolic blood pressure control (B = -4.327, p = 0.009). The findings of the study can promote social change by highlighting that medication compliance must be encouraged and adhered to by members of this high-risk group. However, further research is suggested to explore the efficacy of lifestyle modification closely to determine if this is a viable treatment option for young Black men of low SES in the United States.

Objectives This systematic review aims to evaluate the evidence of non-pharmacological strategies to improve blood pressure (BP) control in patients with hypertension from African countries. Design We performed a systematic review and searched Medline, Central, CINAHL and study registers until June 2020 for randomised studies on interventions to decrease BP of patients with hypertension in African countries. We assessed the study quality using the Cochrane risk of bias tool and narratively synthesised studies on non-pharmacological hypertension interventions. Setting We included studies conducted in African countries. Participants Adult African patients with a hypertension diagnosis. Interventions Studies on non-pharmacological interventions aiming to improve BP control and treatment adherence. Outcomes Main outcomes were BP and treatment adherence. Results We identified 5564 references, included 23 with altogether 18 153 participants from six African countries. The studies investigated educational strategies to improve adherence (11 studies) and treatment by healthcare professionals (5 studies), individualised treatment strategies (2 studies), strategies on lifestyle including physical activity (4 studies) and modified nutrition (1 study). Nearly all studies on educational strategies stated improved adherence, but only three studies showed a clinically relevant improvement of BP control. All studies on individualised strategies and lifestyle changes resulted in clinically relevant effects on BP. Due to the type of interventions studied, risk of bias in domain blinding of staff/participants was frequent (83%). Though incomplete outcome data in 61% of the studies are critical, the general study quality was reasonable. Conclusions The identified studies offer diverse low-cost interventions including educative and task-shifting strategies, individualised treatment and lifestyle modifications to improve BP control. Especially trialled physical activity interventions show clinically relevant BP changes. All strategies were trialled in African countries and may be used for recommendations in evidence-based guidelines on hypertension in African settings.