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High prevalence of elevated blood pressure (prehypertension) and hypertension among undergraduate university students in the UAE: a serious health concern

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 39, pages 442–447 (2025)Cite this article

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Abstract

Hypertension, often referred to as a “silent killer,” due to its lack of obvious symptoms but can lead to devastating complications such as cardiovascular disease and stroke, particularly when left unmanaged. This highlights the importance of early screening of elevated blood pressure. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of elevated blood pressure (prehypertension) and hypertension among undergraduate university students, along with the associated risk factors. We recruited 344 randomly selected undergraduate students for a cross-sectional study. Blood pressure (BP) measurements were taken following best practice guidelines. In addition, body mass index (BMI) was measured, while other risk factors were collected through a questionnaire. Out of all participants, 36% exhibited elevated blood pressure, with the following breakdown: 15% (n = 51) had prehypertension, 18% (n = 62) had stage 1 hypertension, and 3% (n = 10) had stage 2 hypertension. The prevalence of hypertension and prehypertension was significantly higher among male students (52.7 and 100%, respectively) compared to female students (47.3, and 0% respectively). Significant correlations were found between blood pressure, BMI, and physical activity levels (P ≤ 0.001 and P ≤ 0.011, respectively). Our findings reveal a concerning prevalence of prehypertension and, to a greater extent, hypertension among undergraduate university students. Elevated blood pressure levels were strongly correlated with male gender, BMI, and physical activity levels. These results warrant further large-scale investigation and underscore the urgent need to raise awareness about this significant health risk in the younger population.

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Fig. 1: Prevalence of hypertension and prehypertension.

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Public data is not applicable to this study. Study data are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the student participants in our study and the Family Medicine Department for their support and for providing the blood pressure devices used in this research.

Funding

No financial assistance was received to support the conduct of this study or the preparation of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Basic Medical Sciences department, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, UAE

    Yasser Amer Abd Alsamad, Bessan Musa Saleh Jaffal, Khaleel Rajaee Ibrahim Shuhait, Reem Khudoum Khamis Khudoum Alzaabi, Sari Mohammad Mahmoud Lataifeh, Tahsina Tajnin Sadia & Adel B. Elmoselhi

  2. Department of Family Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, UAE

    Yasser Amer Abd Alsamad, Bessan Musa Saleh Jaffal, Khaleel Rajaee Ibrahim Shuhait, Reem Khudoum Khamis Khudoum Alzaabi, Sari Mohammad Mahmoud Lataifeh, Tahsina Tajnin Sadia & Amal Hussein

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  1. Yasser Amer Abd Alsamad
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Contributions

YAA, BMJ, KRS, RKA, SML, and TTS contributed to the design of the questionnaire, obtained ethical approval, and participated in data collection, extraction, analysis, and manuscript writing. AH and ABE provided feedback on questionnaire design, data analysis, and manuscript writing. ABE supervised the study process, conducted the final editing, and submitted the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Adel B. Elmoselhi.

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Ethics

All methods were performed in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations. This study was approved by the University of Sharjah Research Ethics Committee (REC- 23-02-18-12-S). Informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to completing the questionnaire and having their blood pressure measurements taken.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Abd Alsamad, Y.A., Jaffal, B.M.S., Shuhait, K.R.I. et al. High prevalence of elevated blood pressure (prehypertension) and hypertension among undergraduate university students in the UAE: a serious health concern. J Hum Hypertens 39, 442–447 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41371-025-01015-7

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