Effects of hypertensive heart disease on the quality of life of military personnel under the conditions of the Far north

Abstract

Aim: To assess the relationship between the presence of hypertension and the quality of life of contracted military personnel in the Far North, as well as to establish a correlation between the military rank and body mass index.Materials and methods. A medical and sociological study was conducted using a questionnaire survey of 613 military personnel serving on a contract basis in the Far North. The main research tool was a short version of the World Health Organization questionnaire developed for estimating the subjective quality of life. Additionally, questions were asked regarding the health status, as well as the conditions of service and life of military personnel.Results. A positive answer to the question about the presence of a hypertension diagnosis was given by 52 (8.5%) of the respondents. 135 (22%) of the respondents confirmed episodes of increased blood pressure. According to the scale, the quality of life of the military personnel with hypertension comprised 94 points (95% CI: 90.25–97.75), whereas this value equaled 95.33 points (95% CI: 93.10–97.57) and 99.99 points (95% CI: 98.91–101.06) for people experiencing episodes of increased blood pressure and for healthy individuals, respectively. A statistically significant difference in the general assessment of the quality of life was noted between the group of healthy individuals and the group of the personnel suffering from hypertension (U = 10861, p ˂ 0.01), as well as from the group of healthy individuals and people experiencing episodes of increased blood pressure (U = 17185, p ˂ 0.05). In terms of the military rank, statistically significant differences were noted in the hypertension group — between unranked military personnel and warrant officers (U = 78.5, p ˂ 0.05), and in the group experiencing episodes of increased blood pressure — unranked military personnel and warrant officers (U = 587.5, p ˂ 0.05) and warrant officers and junior officers (U = 620, p ˂ 0.05). Spearman correlation criterion values were obtained for the relationship between the body mass index and both hypertension (rs = –0.212, p ˂ 0.001) and high blood pressure (rs = –0.231, p ˂ 0.001).Conclusion. The obtained data confirm the negative impact of conditions associated with increased blood pressure on such aspects as the physical and mental well-being, self-perception, self-assessment of the quality of life and the state of health, general assessment of the quality of life. A correlation between the overall quality of life, the body mass index and the military rank of military personnel was established.