Hypertension in Nepal's understudied indigenous communities: understanding the causes and prevalence

What is it about?

This study examines the prevalence of non-communicable diseases among indigenous populations in Nepal who are often underrepresented in research. We collected survey and biometric data from 12 indigenous populations living in rural and semi-urban areas. Our results showed that hypertension was highly prevalent (23.8%) in these populations, despite their generally healthy lifestyles. To determine the sociodemographic and lifestyle factors associated with hypertension in these communities, we conducted multivariate logistic regressions. Interestingly, we found that many of the well-known determinants of hypertension were not individually associated with the disease in the indigenous participants. Additionally, 14% of the hypertensive participants did not have any of the globally recognized risk factors for it.

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Photo by Tobias Federle on Unsplash

Photo by Tobias Federle on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This study is relevant because nationally representative public health surveys often overlook indigenous populations which has resulted in scarce literature studying their health. Our paper shows that hypertension , a non communicable disease (NCD) risk factor, is highly prevalent in these understudied populations, despite them leading a highly active agrarian life. Major contributors to hypertension such as sedentary lifestyle, consumption of processed food, and smoking are not characteristic of these populations. As a result, the globally accepted determinants of hypertension show weak associations with the disease in this cohort, suggesting that unique risk factors for the disease may exist in these populations that require further exploration. This study highlights the relevance of inclusive research and that intervention strategies developed for the general population may not be sufficient to address the growing burden of NCDs among indigenous Nepali people.