The influence of socio-economic status on casual blood pressures of the adult Nigerians

Studies into social inequalities in health tend to focus more on parental socio-economic status (SES) as it affects the children. We aimed to test the hypothesis that socio-economic inequalities would not affect the casual blood pressure among Nigerian adults. Resting blood pressure (BP) and pulse rate of 1067 sedentary adults were measured. Rate pressure product and pulse pressure were later calculated. Second, a structured questionnaire, which objectively assessed the SES of the subjects, was administered. Subsequently, a self-rating SES ladder was employed to classify the subjects into different socio-economic groups. This was used as a check for the structured questionnaire. A Pearson product correlation coefficient comparing the two outcome measures revealed a high correlation (r=0.951, P<0.01). Socio-economic status was found to have an inverse significant (P<0.05) effect on systolic pressure, heart rate and pulse pressure. The 95th centile blood pressure obtained was 154/91 mmHg. Low SES is associated with development of hypertension among the Nigerian adults.