May Measurement Month 2022: an analysis of blood pressure screening results from Sudan

The May Measurement Month (MMM) campaign was carried out in Sudan in 2022 with the aim of raising awareness of raised blood pressure (BP). Here, we report on the findings of the campaign. Adults aged ≥18 years were recruited opportunistically at the community spaces and educational institutes. Three seated BP readings were taken for each participant, along with completing a questionnaire on demographics, lifestyle factors, and comorbidities. Hypertension was defined as a systolic BP ≥ 140 mmHg and/or diastolic BP ≥ 90 mmHg or being on antihypertensive medication. Controlled BP was described as being on antihypertensive medication with a BP < 140/90 mmHg. Multiple imputation was used to estimate any missing BP readings. In total, 16 051 were screened with a mean age of 37.5 ± 15.9 years and 57.7% of them were females. Of all screened participants, 4604 (28.7%) had hypertension, of whom 2038 (44.27%) were aware of being hypertensive, and 1864 (40.5%) were on antihypertensive medication. Of those on antihypertensive medication, 808 (43.3%) had controlled BP, and of all participants with hypertension, 17.5% had controlled BP. Only 6960 (43.4%) of the total participants had their BP measured within the last 12 months. The MMM campaign in Sudan identified a high percentage of significant numbers of participants with either untreated or inadequately treated hypertension. The previously diagnosed cases were a small proportion of the disease load, a situation that deserves extensive efforts of awareness-raising campaigns and community screening.