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Gender differences in hypertension-free life expectancy in Bangladesh

found to be occupied. Interviews were successfully completed in 17,141 households,
or 98% of all the occupied households. In one-third of households in the 2011 BDHS,
all men and women aged 35 and older (4,524 men and 4,311 women) were selected
for blood pressure measurements. We selected those who gave their full consent to
participate in blood pressure measurements, and consequently, the final study sample
size dropped to 7,864 (3,895 men and 3,969 women).
The participants who were dropped from the whole analysis due to non-consent
did not differ by age from those included in the analysis. The dropped participants’
mean age was 51.27 years whereas the included participants’ mean age was 51.38
years (difference 0.11 years, p < 0.80). However, the dropped participants differed
significantly from the included participants by sex, marital status, education
level, and place of residence. Thirty-five percent of the dropped participants were
female, whereas half of the included participants were female (p < 0.01). Eighty-
one percent of the dropped participants were currently married, whereas 84% of the
included participants were currently married (p < 0.05). Forty percent of the dropped
participants were illiterate, whereas 45% of the included participants were illiterate (p
< 0.01). Fifty-eight percent of the dropped participants came from rural areas, whereas
67% of the included participants came from rural areas (p < 0.01).

2.2 HTN Measurements
The 2011 BDHS used the Life Source UA-767 Plus blood pressure monitor model
to measure blood pressure. This model is one of the blood pressure monitors
recommended for use by World Health Organization. Three measurements of both
systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were taken during
the survey at approximately 10-minute intervals. Only the average of the second and
third measurements was available in the data set we used to report respondents’ blood
pressure values. In addition, each respondent was asked whether s/he had ever been
told by a doctor or nurse that s/he had high blood pressure. Each respondent was
also asked whether s/he was currently taking antihypertensive medication to lower
their blood pressure. An individual was considered to have HTN if s/he had blood
pressure levels ≥140 mmHg SBP or ≥90 mmHg DBP, or s/he was currently taking
antihypertensive medication to lower their blood pressure. Based on the blood pressure
measurements, medications, and doctor or nurse diagnoses of respondents’ high blood
pressure, we classified HTN into four types: (i) unaware of HTN, (ii) aware of HTN
but not in treatment, (iii) controlled HTN, and (iv) uncontrolled HTN. An individual
was considered to be unaware of HTN if s/he had blood pressure levels ≥140 mmHg
SBP or ≥90 mmHg DBP, was not taking any medication, and had never been told by
a doctor or nurse that s/he had high blood pressure. An individual was considered to
be aware of HTN but not in treatment if s/he had blood pressure levels ≥ 140 mmHg
SBP or ≥ 90 mmHg DBP, was not taking any medication, but had been told by a doctor
or nurse that s/he had high blood pressure. An individual was considered to have
controlled HTN if s/he had blood pressure levels < 140 mmHg SBP or < 90 mmHg
DBP, was taking medication, and had been told by a doctor or nurse that s/he had high
blood pressure. An individual was considered to have uncontrolled HTN if s/he had
blood pressure levels ≥ 140 mmHg SBP or ≥ 90 mmHg DBP, was taking medication,
and had been told by a doctor or nurse that s/he had high blood pressure.
2.3 Estimation of HFLE

The Sullivan method (Sullivan, 1971) was employed to compute HFLE for the year
2011 for Bangladesh. It partitions total LE into LE with different types of HTN and
HFLE based on the prevalence of HTN within a representative sample at a single point
in time. The Sullivan method requires two types of data: a standard period life table
where mortality information of a population can be found, and the prevalence of HTN
for that population. The life table for Bangladesh for the year 2011 was obtained from
the World Health Organization (World Health Organization, 2014). The proportion of
the Bangladeshi population with HTN for the year 2011 was obtained from the 2011

112 International Journal of Population Studies 2017, Volume 3, Issue 1