Frequent Hypertension in Côte d’Ivoire as a Consequence of Micronutrient Deficiency

Blood pressure, regarded as being a lifestyle disease of the Western world in the past, is spreading more and more in developing and emerging countries. While in Western Europe, North America, and high-income Asia Pacific, the amount of people with hypertension is noticeably declining, whereas it is increasing in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa(1). Ivory Coast is also affected by this trend reversal. A publication by the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC) provides a very clear picture of the increase in hypertension in the Ivorian population over the last 40 years (1975-2015) (2):

A systolic blood pressure of ≥ 140 mmHg or a diastolic blood pressure of ≥ 90 mmHg is defined as hypertension (1).

The growing numbers of overweight in developing and emerging countries, while the diet is deficient in nutrients at the same time, is referred to as the “double burden of malnutrition”. Experts believe that the reduction of malnutrition in the earliest childhood is a possible way to stop this development. Hypertension is one of the most important risk factors for heart attack, stroke and kidney diseases.

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(1) NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC). Worldwide trends in blood pressure from 1975 to 2015: a pooled analysis of 1479 population-based measurement studies with 19,1 million participants. The Lancet Volume 389, No. 10064, p37–55, 7 January 2017. Available via: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(16)31919-5/abstract

(2) Data on major risk factors for non-communicable diseases Ivory Coast. Available under: http://www.ncdrisc.org/downloads/country-pdf/country-profile-Cote%20d’Ivoire.pdf