Associations of tobacco use, physical activity and diet with hypertension in the city of Kandahar, Afghanistan: a community-based cross-sectional study

Hypertension exerts a substantial financial burden on individuals, families, communities, and the health system of a country. The current study aimed to describe the association of hypertension with its main risk factors in the Afghan population living in Kandahar city.

The prevalence of tobacco smoking, naswar use, physical activity and a healthy diet was 22%, 55%, 63.9% and 33.6%, respectively, in men, while in women, the prevalence was 4.8%, 6.5%, 57.6% and 13.5%, respectively. The prevalence of hypertension was 28.2% and 23.9% in men and women, respectively. Hypertension was associated with age greater than 45 years [aOR (95% CI) = 2.13 (1.56–2.91)], widows [aOR (95% CI) = 1.91 (1.25–2.91)], medium and high monthly income [aOR (95% CI) = 3.45 (2.33–5.10) and aOR (95% CI) = 2.34 (1.50–3.64)], high physical activity [aOR (95% CI) = 1.72 (1.15–2.56)], obesity [aOR (95% CI) = 1.64 (1.16–2.34)] and family history of hypertension [aOR (95% CI) = 4.70 (2.44–9.04)]. Naswar use is more prevalent than tobacco smoking among urban residents from Kandahar province. Improved monitoring and control of risk factors for hypertension are required in all regions of Afghanistan.