Measured and self-reported hypertension among women of reproductive age, Gambia, Kenya, Mozambique

Hypertension is a leading and increasingly prevalent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Accurate estimates of the prevalence of hypertension are needed for monitoring and evaluation of existing policies and programmes, to address cardiovascular disease. In sub-Saharan Africa, this information is sometimes collected through self-report in surveys. While the reliability of self-reported hypertension varies (e.g. by age, region and sex),1 the reliability in sub-Saharan Africa is unknown. We sought to: (i) report the prevalence of hypertension in non-pregnant women of reproductive age, for whom cardiovascular disease prevention has particular potential; (ii) investigate the reliability of self-reported (versus measured) hypertension in such women; and (iii) compare self-reported hypertension prevalence between non-pregnant women of reproductive age and pregnant women in the Gambia, Kenya and Mozambique, within the PRECISE (PREgnancy Care Integrating translational Science, Everywhere) observational prospective cohort.