PREVALENCE OF HYPERTENSION AND ASSOCIATED RISK FACTORSAMONG MIDDLE-AGED ADULTS ATTENDING INEC CLINIC IN ABUJA MUNICIPAL AREA COUNCIL, ABUJA.

Hypertension among middle-aged adults is becoming a common occurrence in most public health services and the need to improve the health and wellbeing cannot be overemphasized. The study investigated the prevalence of hypertension and associated risk factors among middle-aged adults attending INEC Clinic in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Abuja, from 2021-2024. The study was guided by six (6) objectives, six (6) research questions and four (4) hypotheses. The study was delimited to gender, age, marital status, educational level and associated risk factors. The study adopted an ex-post factor research design. The target population of the study consists of two hundred and twenty (220) patients and the total population used as the sample for the study. The instrument used for data collection was self-developed Data Collection Schedule Pro-forma (DCSP). The instrument was validated by the project supervisor and three other lecturers from the department of public health in Madonna University Nigeria. Frequency counts and percentage were used to answer research questions while chi-square was used to answer the hypothesis. Appropriate degree of freedom and a 0.05 level of significance were used for the hypothesis. The prevalence of hypertension was found to be 40 (18.18%) in 2021, 54 (24.55%) in 2022, 46 (20.91%) in 2023 and 80 (36.36%) in 2024 having the highest prevalent cases. By gender, females had the highest prevalent cases 127 (57.73%) while the males had the lowest prevalent cases 93 (42.27%). By age, middle-aged adults from 53-56 years 70 (31.81%) were more prevalent and 49-52 years 44 (20%) were less prevalent. By marital status, the married 73 (33.18%) were more prevalent and the separated 21 (9.55%) were less prevalent. By educational level middle-aged adults who had tertiary education 78 (35.45%) were more prevalent and middle-aged adults who had primary education 32 (14.55%) were less prevalent. By associated risk factors, middle-aged adults who had poor diets 75 (34.09%) were more prevalent and middle-aged adults who smoked 17 (7.73%) were less prevalent. This means that there is high rate of hypertension among middle-aged adults attending INEC Clinic in Abuja Municipal Area Council, Abuja. The study recommends targeted interventions, improved health education, and policy actions tailored to the identified demographic groups to reduce the burden of hypertension in AMAC. Keywords: Hypertension, Associated risk factors, Prevalence, Middle-aged adults