P024 NEPAL TAKES ACTION FOR BLOOD PRESSURE SCREENING: RESULTS FROM MAY MEASURE MONTH 2022

Objective: To present the result of May Measure Month (MMM) 2022 in Nepal. Methods: An opportunistic cross-sectional survey of adults ≥ 18 years was conducted in 32 districts from Jun-October 2022. Trained volunteers administered the structured questionnaire into the local language and took 3 BP readings in a sitting position at 1-minute intervals. The mean of the second and third BP readings was calculated. Hypertension was defined as a systolic BP ≥ 140 mmHg or a diastolic BP ≥90 mmHg or being on antihypertensive medication. Ethical approval was obtained from the Nepal Health Research Council. Results: MMM 2022 included 13,125 participants. The mean age of the participants was 38.8(±16.1) years. There were 52.2% females. The mean was 118.6 mmHg ±15.8 for systolic BP, and 78.8 mmHg ±10.67 for diastolic BP. Around one-fifth (19.5%) of participants were found to be hypertensive. The odds of hypertension in young males were 1.49 times than females (OR=1.49, 95% CI: 1.37 to 1.63). Only about 43.5% of the population were aware, 37.5% were on medication and only 21.5% of hypertensive had controlled blood pressure (< 140/90 mm Hg). Less males were aware and on medication as compared to females (OR = 0.86, 95% CI: 0.74 -1.01). 26.3% hypertensive females have controlled blood pressure as compared to 17.7% in males (p<0.05). Among all participants, 11.3% (n= 1473) had their BP measured for the first time, and nearly 22.6% (n= 2953) did not measure it within the last one year. More than 90% of individuals taking medicine reported that they took medicine regularly and more than 80% reported that they did not pay for medicine. Conclusions: MMM seems to be a promising community-based program for increasing awareness and identifying high risk population. As more than 50% of participants were unaware of their hypertension status, there is an opportunity in Nepal to identify these patients and increase awareness by adopting nationwide screening campaign such as MMM.