Abstract

Hypertension (HTN) and Type 2 diabetes (T2D) are lifestyle interrelated diseases of global significance. Interestingly, the prevalence of these diseases in Africa and indeed Nigeria seems to be on the increase. This study, therefore, investigated the socioeconomic status (based on income, education and occupational activity) of 400 subjects (52% female and 48% male) aged 20 years and above who were sampled randomly among the newly diagnosed HTN and/or T2D cases at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, North-West Nigeria. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect information from the subjects. From the result obtained, most of the respondents who live in towns or city suffer from either HTN or T2D while more town dwellers (28%) suffer from a combination of both diseases. It was also discovered that most respondents who suffer from HTN and from a combination of HTN and T2D belong to the old generation (60-79 years). There is higher prevalence rate of diabetes among the respondents who had no formal education or attended only basic Arabic schools. Most respondents who earn good income (NGN50,000-NGN100,000 and above NGN100,000) suffer HTN, T2D and a combination of both diseases. Those engaged in heavy occupational activities had the lowest prevalence of the disease compared with those of light or moderate occupational activities. These data will be found useful in planning intervention healthcare preventive programs especially on public enlightenment workshops and seminars to educate the populace on the importance of lifestyle modification, healthy diet and regular exercises.

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