By Nebal Snan

KUWAIT: High blood pressure is estimated to have the biggest burden on the Kuwaiti healthcare system compared to other chronic noncommunicable diseases, recent research has found. Based on the study, which was published in Dec 2022, people with high blood pressure were 75 percent more likely to be admitted to a hospital in Kuwait compared to those who don't have the disease.

The study was conducted by Abdullah Al-Ibrahim, Assistant Professor of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering at Kuwait University, and aimed to determine the rates of hospitalizations linked to several noncommunicable diseases in the country. Hospital admissions are one of the costliest elements of the financial burden on healthcare systems, the paper argued, making them a good indicator of how much of an economic strain a given disease could impose.

Noncommunicable diseases kill 41 million people each year, equivalent to 74 percent of all deaths globally, according to the World Health Organization. These diseases include cancers, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension or high blood pressure, diabetes and chronic lung illnesses. Obesity and heart disease are also associated with higher rates of hospital admissions in Kuwait, the study suggests, with heart disease linked to a 500 percent increased risk. On the other hand, asthma and chronic lung conditions are estimated to have lower rates.

The research relied on self-reported data provided by respondents to the Kuwait WHS 2010, described by Ibrahim as the only nationally representative dataset capturing health utilization data and individual characteristics to date in Kuwait. It's also the only study including both Kuwaiti and non-Kuwaiti residents in the country while covering all six governorates, he wrote. The study acknowledges limitations in the data, including entries with missing information, but says it's "the best available method to answer a critical question in the wake of inadequate national-level administrative data".

Dr Abdullateef Qutabi, a physician who specializes in the treatment and diagnosis of diabetes, said the number of hospital admissions due to high blood pressure has likely increased since the Kuwait WHS data was collected in 2010. According to 2015 data from the Kuwaiti ministry of health, about 25 percent of the population in the country have hypertension, with one-third being under 45 years old. Qutabi expects the number to have climbed to 27 percent now.

He attributes the increase to the growing obesity rates and a widespread sedentary lifestyle. Hospital admissions, whatever their rate, are also a sign of poor disease management, said Qutabi. Since high blood pressure is a "silent disease", patients often get complacent when they start feeling better and stop taking their medication, leading to grave ramifications, such as heart attacks.

The high prevalence of hypertension in Kuwait means the disease is likely the biggest culprit, putting pressure on the Kuwaiti healthcare system compared to other diseases, the study said. "The estimates obtained from this analysis have vast implications for health care planning in Kuwait and the region," wrote Ibrahim.

Kuwait's national strategy for the prevention and response to chronic noncommunicable diseases, which was first released in 2017, set a target to reduce the prevalence of high blood pressure in the country by 25 percent by 2025. The strategy also promised a 30 percent reduction in the average population's salt or sodium intake.

For the country to reach this target, there needs to be far-reaching and effective public awareness campaigns, said Qutabi. Such efforts will allow for the early detection of the disease which lowers the risk of further complications and eliminates the need for hospitalization. The calculated hospitalization risks are also a "sound baseline", Ibrahim wrote, to design comprehensive healthcare payment reforms and improve primary care effectiveness.