Alcohol Consumption and Pattern of Blood Pressure Distribution among Universities’ Staff in South Western Nigeria

Abstract

This study was designed to find out the level of alcohol consumption and pattern of blood pressure distribution among Universities’ staff in south Western Nigeria. The cross sectional descriptive survey design was adopted for this study. The population for the study comprised of all Universities’ staff in South Western Nigeria. A sample of 1800 respondents selected using multistage random sampling technique was used. Two instruments were used for this study. The first instrument sought information on the bio-data of the respondents, the second instrument is digital sphygmomanometer used to monitor and record the actual blood pressure readings of the respondents. The first instrument was validated by three experts in health education and the reliability was determined using test re test method. A coefficient of 0.85 was obtained and this was considered adequate for the study. The second instrument was calibrated and found to be good enough for the study. Data was analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics to answer questions and test the hypotheses raised for the research. The analysis was done with the use of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 and strata software using simple percentages, bar graph and correlation statistics at 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that: only 4.8% of the respondents take alcohol a lot. Level of alcohol intake has significant influence on pattern of both systolic and diastolic blood pressure distribution among Universities staff in South Western Nigeria. It was recommended among others that: Public health education lectures should be organized from time to time for all staff and students to sensitize them on the relationship between alcohol consumption and hypertension.