Influence of Dietary Factors on Cardiovascular Conditions among Young Adults Attending Cardiac Clinic in Coast General Teaching & Referral Hospital (CGTRH)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47941/ijhmnp.4061Keywords:
Dietary Factors, Cardiovascular Conditions, Young Adults and HypertensionAbstract
Purpose: This study determined the factors influencing development of cardiovascular conditions among young adults seeking services at the cardiac clinic of CGTRH.
Methodology: This study had employed analytical cross-sectional survey design with quantitative methods, the study was carried out at CGTRH, the target population was 222 young adults who have been visiting the Cardiac clinic for the last 4 months. Purposive sampling was used to recruit 141 subjects into the study. To collect data from the subjects’, structured questionnaires were employed. Pretesting of the questionnaires were done at Kilifi County Referral Hospital. The study was conducted for one month through a nurse and research assistant who identified the study participants using the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Version 26 of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to examine quantitative data. Measures of central tendency were used to characterize continuous variables. The logistic regression was used in inferential statistics to ascertain the relationship between the research variables. Tables, charts, and graphs were used to display the analyzed data. The Institutional Research and Ethics Committee (IREC) of Mount Kenya University granted approval and permission to conduct the study.
Findings: The study also revealed that 94% of the participants consumed vitamin-rich vegetables on a daily basis and 41.3% of them consumed dark green leafy vegetables 5–6 days per week. This is good news because vegetables are high in dietary fibre, antioxidants, potassium and phytochemicals that aid in lowering blood pressure, endothelial function and reduce inflammation.
Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Health promotion programs should promote frequent, moderate consumption of low-fat dairy products as part of a balanced diet, as the results showed a negative correlation between increased consumption of milk and milk products and hypertension
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Copyright (c) 2026 Wanjiku Trizah Moraa, Dr. Paul Wambugu, Dr. Samuel M. Mbugua
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