SAGE-Hindawi Access to Research International Journal of Hypertension Volume 2011, Article ID 869675, 5 pages doi:10.4061/2011/869675 Research Article High Prevalence and Low Awareness of Hypertension in a Market Population in Enugu, Nigeria Ifeoma I. Ulasi,1 Chinwuba K. Ijoma,1 Basden J. C. Onwubere,2 Ejikeme Arodiwe,1 Obinna Onodugo,1 and Christian Okafor3 1 Renal Unit, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu 400001, Nigeria 2 Cardiology Unit, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu 400001, Nigeria 3 Endocrinology Unit, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu 400001, Nigeria Correspondence should be addressed to Chinwuba K. Ijoma, chubaijoma@yahoo.co.uk Received 15 September 2010; Accepted 3 January 2011 Academic Editor: Samy I. McFarlane Copyright © 2011 Ifeoma I. Ulasi et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Background. A community-based study put the prevalence of hypertension in Nigeria at 32.8%. Market workers in Nigeria lead sedentary life style and often depend on salt-laden fast food while at work. Method. An unselected population of market workers were screened for hypertension and its risk factors by a pretested, structured questionnaire, clinical examination, and laboratory investigation. Hypertension was deﬁned as BP ≥ 140 and/or ≥ 90 mmHg or being on drug therapy. Results. Forty-two percent of the screened population were hypertensive. Of this number, 70.6% did not know they were hypertensive before the screening. More males than females (P = .022) were hypertensive. Prevalence of hypertension increased with age from 5.4% in the age group <20 years to 80% in the age group ≥70 years. Conclusion. The prevalence of hypertension in market workers in this study was 42%, and the majority of them were unaware of their disease. 1. Introduction Hypertension is the commonest noncommunicable disease and the leading cause of cardiovascular disease in the world [1, 2]. It is an important public health challenge in both economically developing and developed countries. Many people with hypertension are unaware of their condition, and among those with hypertension, treatment is infrequent and inadequate. The prevalence of hypertension varies around the world with the lowest prevalence in rural India (3.4% in men and 6.8% in women) and the highest prevalence in Poland (68.9% in men and 72.5% in women). The global prevalence of hypertension has been increasing. In 2000, 972 million people had hypertension with a prevalence rate of 26.4%. These are projected to increase to 1.54 billion aﬀected individuals and a prevalence rate of 29.2% in 2025 [2]. Incidence rates of hypertension range from 3% to 18% depending on the age, gender, ethnicity, and body size of the population studied [3]. A recent community based study of rural and semiurban population in Enugu, Nigeria put the prevalence of hypertension in Nigeria at 32.8% [4]. Uncontrolled hypertension is associated with serious end- organ damage including heart disease, stroke, blindness, and renal disease [5–7]. These serious complications of hyperten- sion can be prevented by adequate blood pressure control [8, 9]. Prevention programmes start with screening to identify the population at risk and treatment. To determine the crude prevalence of hypertension and awareness and the risk factors for cardiovascular disease in a market population, the authors undertook a screening exercise on the 13th of May 2006 in Ogbete market in Enugu, Nigeria. 2. Materials and Methods The Ogbete main market population consist of traders and artisans. Prior radio and television announcements invited participants to the screening site on the appointed day. The exercise was executed with the approval and cooperation of the leadership of the market workers. The screening exercise was executed in stages. Stage 1, a structured questionnaire