Interrelation between poverty and hypertension: a cross-sectional study in the Happy Valley Tea Garden, Darjeeling, India
Background: The general belief among the common people is that hypertension is a disorder prevalent among people of higher economical status. But the cross sectional and observational study of the distribution of common risk factors of Hypertension (HTN) as well as the prevalence of Hypertension and...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Al Ameen Medical College
2015-04-01
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| Series: | Al Ameen Journal of Medical Sciences |
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| Online Access: | http://ajms.alameenmedical.org/ArticlePDFs/9%20AJMS%20V8.N2.2015%20p%20125-134.pdf |
| Summary: | Background: The general belief among the common people is that hypertension is a disorder prevalent among people of higher economical status. But the cross sectional and observational study of the distribution of common risk factors of Hypertension (HTN) as well as the prevalence of Hypertension and its interventional status among the workers of Happy Valley Tea Garden Darjeeling, India shows that poor socio-economic condition is a major source of hypertension. The workers, who have their leading role behind the famous brand of Darjeeling tea of Happy Valley Tea Garden, suffer from different health problems due to their poor socio-economic conditions. Objective: This paper primarily focuses on the characteristics of the chronic problem of hypertension among those workers and policy required to be framed to find out the crux of the problem and to eradicate that. Also, to corroborate the viewpoint as focused, a comparison has been done among the tea garden workers and the other secured job holders in the study area regarding the spread of HTN. Methods: Blood pressure, BMI and other detail examinations of 130 tea garden workers and 100 people having other jobs were performed along with interviews. Result: The spread of HTN is much higher in tea garden workers who are poorer in income and having less education, lack of healthy water resource and good quality houses. Conclusion: Although the tea garden workers are not involved in taking junk foods or very light and sedentary physical works, they are still very much prone to HTN due to their poverty. |
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| ISSN: | 0974-1143 0974-1143 |