How Social Interaction Shapes the Prevalence and Knowledge of Hypertension: A Longitudinal Analysis of Mature Adults in Rural Malawi

Weilong Li , University of Pennsylvania
Iliana V. Kohler, University of Pennsylvania
Hans-Peter Kohler, University of Pennsylvania

Hypertension has been a rising health burden in Malawi. This paper analyzes the association between social interaction and the prevalence and knowledge of hypertension among mature adults (age 45 or above) in rural Malawi, from the perspective of social engagement and upward intergenerational transmission. The duration of the association is also tested. Using the latest three waves of Malawi Longitudinal Study of Family and Health (MLSFH), I find the association between social interaction and the prevalence of hypertension is short-term. The frequency of social activity participation is negatively associated with being hypertensive while the number of adult children living in urban areas in households is positively associated with having high blood pressure. On the other hand, I find the association between social interaction and mature adults’ knowledge of hypertension is long-term and mainly comes from adult children’s education, which is positively associated with mature adults’ knowledge of high blood pressure.

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 Presented in Session 249. Social and Economic Determinants of Health and Mortality