INTRODUCTIONHypertension is a common chronic condition usually managed by primary-care practitioners in Singapore. This study assessed the characteristics, control and complications of non-diabetic hypertensive patients managed at government primary healthcare clinics.

MATERIALS AND METHODSA cross-sectional study involving 9 clinics was conducted over 1-week in 2006. Five hundred and six non-diabetic hypertensive patients were systematically sampled from all clinic attendees. Data relating to socio-demographic, lifestyle factors, treatment and complications were collected by interviewer-administered questionnaires and review of clinic medical records. Blood pressure (BP) measurements were taken with validated automated sets following a standard protocol.

RESULTSThe prevalence of good BP control (<140/90 mmHg) was 37.7% (95% CI: 33.6% to 41.8%). Ninety seven percent were on medication with about half on monotherapy. Seventy percent of patients had a body mass index (BMI) of 23.0 kg/m(2) or higher, 64% did not exercise regularly and 8% were current smokers. After adjusting for age and lifestyle factors, male hypertensive patients had poorer BP control compared to females. Nineteen percent of patients reported at least 1 complication of hypertension, especially cardiac disease. After multivariate analysis and duration of disease, age and the male gender were associated with the presence of hypertensive complications.

CONCLUSIONSMore than half of the patients were not controlled to target levels. Male patients were more likely to have poorer control of hypertension and significantly higher risks of complications. Control of BP could be further improved by lifestyle modifications - weight reduction, promotion of physical activity, healthier eating habits and smoking cessation.

Aged ; Blood Pressure ; Body Mass Index ; Community-Based Participatory Research ; Confidence Intervals ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Diet, Reducing ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; complications ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; prevention & control ; Life Style ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Motor Activity ; Multivariate Analysis ; Prevalence ; Primary Health Care ; statistics & numerical data ; Risk ; Sex Factors ; Singapore ; epidemiology ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Weight Loss

The Ministry of Health (MOH) has developed the clinical practice guidelines on Prevention, Diagnosis and Management of Tuberculosis to provide doctors and patients in Singapore with evidence-based treatment for tuberculosis. This article reproduces the introduction and executive summary (with recommendations from the guidelines) from the MOH clinical practice guidelines on Prevention, Diagnosis and Management of Tuberculosis, for the information of SMJ readers. The chapters and page numbers mentioned in the reproduced extract refer to the full text of the guidelines, which are available from the Ministry of Health website: http://www.moh.gov.sg/content/moh_web/healthprofessionalsportal/doctors/guidelines/cpg_medical.html. The recommendations should be used with reference to the full text of the guidelines. Following this article are multiple choice questions based on the full text of the guidelines.
Disease Management ; Evidence-Based Medicine ; methods ; Government ; Humans ; Morbidity ; trends ; Practice Guidelines as Topic ; Singapore ; epidemiology ; Tuberculosis ; diagnosis ; epidemiology ; prevention & control