The Relationships and Risk Factors Associated with Hypertension, Diabetes, and Proteinuria among Adults from Bheramara Upazila, Bangladesh: Findings from Portable Health Clinic Data, 2013–2016

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships among hypertension, diabetes, and proteinuria and their risk factors in adults who participated in a community-based mobile health check-up service called portable health clinic (PHC) in rural Bangladesh.

Data were collected from 2890 individuals who agreed to participate in the PHC at Bheramara sub-district between 2013 and 2016. Data included basic demographic and health check-up information. Multivariate logistic regression models were used with three outcome variables (proteinuria, diabetes, and hypertension) and four independent and control variables (age, sex, pulse rate, and body mass index).

Among participants who had both hypertension and diabetes, 77% had proteinuria. Among those who had diabetes, 55% had proteinuria and 45% had hypertension. Age and sex-adjusted logistic regression models found that diabetes was significantly associated with proteinuria (odds ratio OR=3.0, P=0.005), while the association between hypertension and proteinuria showed borderline significance (P<0.057). Hypertension was significantly associated with diabetes after controlling for age and sex (OR=1.5, P<0.001). Participants aged older than 40 years had higher odds of having diabetes or having hypertension comparing with the odds for participants aged between 15 and 39 years.

Prevention of complications in Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) in Bheramara needs to focus on sub-populations aged older than 40 years and those with hypertension, diabetes, and/or proteinuria. PHC services in rural Bangladesh is important for screening a large number of unaware and undiagnosed diabetic, hypertensive, and proteinuria patients.