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THE PREVALENCE OF HOUSEHOLD FOOD INSECURITY AND IT’S ASSOCIATION WITH HYPERTENSION AND OTHER CORRELATES AMONG ADULTS IN ARUA MUNICIPALITY: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Introduction and Background: Globally, food insecurity is on the increase due to many factors exacerbated by climate change. Food insecurity has been linked to chronic diseases like hypertension as it elevates stress levels and alters metabolism due to sudden changes in food availability and consumption. Food insecurity can also result from hypertension due to high costs associated with dietary adjustments, medication and complications. Sub-Saharan Africa is disproportionately affected, 26% of households in Uganda face stressed food insecurity, 29% and 11% of children under 5 are stunted and underweight respectively due to lack of food. In 2017, 37% of people in West-Nile were food insecure. By 2020, 55% of People in Arua Municipality (now city) were food insecure, 20% faced severe food insecurity and thousands of children under 5 years were malnourished. The burden of food insecurity and hypertension in Uganda is likely to increase if appropriate interventions are not put in place. Objective: This study sought to determine the prevalence of household food insecurity and its association with presence of a hypertensive adult in the household in Arua Municipality. Methods: This was a cross sectional study among adults 18 to 59 years in Arua Municipality. A total of 26 cells and 366 households were randomly selected. Participants should have lived in Arua Municipality six months or more prior and the study excluded pregnant women and critically ill persons. Food security was assessed using the food consumption score and reduced coping strategy indicators. Blood pressure was measured using the upper arm cuff type digital blood pressure machine. Data was entered into excel and imported to Stata software version 14 for analysis. Prevalence of food insecurity was based on both food security indicators.

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Author: tengo daisy
Contributed by: asbat digital library
Institution: makerere university
Level: university
Sublevel: post-graduate
Type: dissertations