A quantile regression analysis on factors influencing blood presure levels in Namibia
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Date
2019
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Publisher
University of Namibia
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Developing countries including Namibia are experiencing a rapid increase in non-communicable diseases. Blood pressure is estimated to instigate round about 60 percent of deaths around the world, of which 80 percent occur in developing countries.
OBJECTIVE: To examine behavioral, socio-demographic and socio-economic factors associated with blood pressure measurements for adults aged 35-64 in Namibia.
METHODS: The study practiced a quantitative approach where data was drawn from the 2013 Namibia Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS). A weights variable was applied to all
variables in order for the survey to be representative of the whole population of Namibia, thereafter the data was cleaned by using two variables called Systolic and Diastolic Blood Pressure. Data
was explored using descriptive statistics and quantile regression to obtain the appropriate results.
RESULTS: Basic characteristics of the adult participants: Age, BMI, and DBP were all significantly higher in females than those in males (P < 0.05), however FPG and SBP were higher
in males than females (P < 0.05). The demographics were significantly different between genders. Furthermore, Age was positively associated with both systolic and diastolic blood pressure, likewise BMI showed significantly positive associations with systolic/diastolic blood pressure across the entire conditional blood pressure distribution. Adults resident in rural areas were
negatively associated with high systolic/diastolic blood pressure, whereas weekly adult smokers and unemployed were positively associated with systolic blood pressure across four last quantiles
(10th, 50th, 90th and 95th). Age and BMI showed substantial trends along the quantile axis.
CONCLUSION: Practically all selected common factors influencing blood measurement presented positively associated with systolic and diastolic blood measurements. This indicates
that there is a need to enforce operational structures that will contribute to advancement of the adults’ behavioral, socio-demographic and socio-economic status in the country. The finding of this study has potential to assist government, policy makers and other collaborative organizations on resource allocation to improve adults’ blood pressure.
Description
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science (Applied Statistics and Demography)
Keywords
Blood pressure levels