Comparison of Blood Pressure Patterns of Teaching and Non-Teaching Staff of a Nigerian University

Objective: Differences in jobs descriptions and responsibilities may contribute to varying degree of exposure to diseases including high blood pressure. There is dearth of studies comparing blood pressure patterns and anthropometric parameters between teaching and non-teaching staff of university. Therefore, this study was designed to assess and compare the blood pressure and the anthropometric parameters of both teaching and non-teaching staff of a Nigerian university. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess blood pressure pattern and anthropometric parameters among 324 apparently healthy teaching (n = 120) and non-teaching (n = 202) staff of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Anthropometric parameters including height, weight and hip and waist circumferences were measured. Blood pressure was measured thrice during office hours (9.00 - 11.00 hours) using standard procedures and hypertension was defined as ≥140 ≥90 mmHg. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data at p < 0.05 alpha level. Results: The mean of ages of teaching and non-teaching staff were 46.8 ± 9.8 and 45.6 ± 10.9 years. The prevalence of high blood pressure was 34.9% with a distribution of teaching to non-teaching rate of 20.1% and 14.8% respectively. There were significant correlations between blood pressure and each of weight, body mass index and waist circumference in both groups (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Prevalence of high blood pressure was higher among teaching than non-teaching staff and significant correlations were found between blood pressure and some anthropometric parameters. Public health including regular physical activity enlightenment programmes to reduce blood pressure is recommended.