High blood pressure and exposure to dust from gold mine dumps among the elderly in South Africa

Abstract

OBJECTIVE : To investigate whether high blood pressure was associated with living close to a mine dump among the elderly in South Africa. STUDY DESIGN : This was a cross-sectional study conducted among the elderly in communities 1–2 km (exposed) and 5 km or more (unexposed), from five pre-selected mine dumps in Gauteng and North West provinces of South Africa. METHODS : Structured interviews were conducted with 2397 elderly, using a previously validated ATS-DLD-78 questionnaire from the British Medical Research Council. RESULTS : The prevalence of high blood pressure was 57.51% in the exposed and 46.66% in the unexposed communities, respectively. Results from the multiple logistic regression analysis showed that having high blood pressure was significantly associated with living in exposed communities (AOR = 3.04, 95% CI: 2.41–3.83, P < 0.001). Other significant risk factors were being an previous and current tobacco smoker, age group, tertiary level of educational attainment, and having a history of occupational exposure to dust and chemical fumes. CONCLUSION : The findings of this study suggest that there are high levels of blood pressure among the elderly residing in communities located near mine dumps in South Africa.