Psychosocial factors and hypertension prevalence among Ghanaians in Ghana and Ghanaian migrants in Europe: The RODAM study
Awuah, Raphael Baffour; de-Graft Aikins, Ama; Dodoo, F. Nii Amoo; Meeks, Karlijn A.C.; Beune, Eric J.A.J.; Klipstein-Grobusch, Kerstin; Addo, Juliet; Smeeth, Liam; Bahendeka, Silver K.; Agyemang, Charles
(2019) Health Psychology Open, volume 6, issue 2, pp. 1 - 9
(Article)
Abstract
Despite progress made to prevent and control hypertension, its prevalence has persisted in many countries. This study examined the associations between psychosocial factors and hypertension among Ghanaian non-migrants and migrants. Data were drawn from the Research on Obesity and Diabetes among African Migrants (RODAM) project. Findings show that among migrant
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women, those who experienced periods of stress at home/work had higher odds of hypertension. Among non-migrants, women with depression symptoms were more likely to be hypertensive. Furthermore, there was a positive association between negative life events and hypertension among non-migrant men. The findings highlight the importance of psychosocial factors in addressing hypertension prevalence in Ghanaian populations.
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Keywords: depression symptoms, Ghanaian migrants in Europe, Ghanaians in Ghana, hypertension, negative life events, stress, Psychiatry and Mental health, Clinical Psychology, Journal Article
ISSN: 2055-1029
Publisher: SAGE Publications Inc.
Note: Funding Information: The present analyses show that stress, depression symptoms and negative life events are associated with hypertension prevalence in Ghanaian populations, although the strength and direction of the associations differ by migration status (migrants and non-migrants) and sex (men and women). The findings suggest that addressing common mental health outcomes, such as stress and depressive symptoms, among Ghanaian populations in Ghana and in Europe may enhance emotional well-being and quality of life, and consequently contribute to reducing the burden of hypertension. The authors are very grateful to the RODAM advisory board members for their valuable support in shaping the methods, to the research assistants, interviewers and other staff of the five research locations who have taken part in gathering the data and, most of all, to the Ghanaian volunteers participating in this project. Authors’ contributions RBA, AdGA, FNAD and CA conceptualized the study. RBA analysed the data and wrote the first draft of the article. CA, AdGA, FNAD, KACM, EJAJB, KK-G, JA, LS and SKB made important inputs to subsequent versions of the article. All authors read and approved the final article. Declaration of conflicting interests The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article. Funding The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article: The RODAM study was funded by the European Commission under the Framework Programme (grant number: 278901). The funders did not play any role in the study design, data collection and analysis or preparation of the article. Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2019. Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
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