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Background: With few studies carried out in developing countries, studies carried out in developed countries have shown that physical inactivity tends to be more prevalent among poor people. Additional evidence from previous observational studies and randomized controlled trials have also shown a causal link between physical activity and reduced risk for hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases. This study aims to analyse the prevalence of physical activity and its association with blood pressure in the slums of Korogocho and Viwandani in Kenya.

Methods: The data analyzed herein was obtained from the African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC) from the study “Sustainable model for cardiovascular health by adjusting lifestyle and treatment with economic perspective in settings of urban poverty”, a prospective quasi-experimental community-based intervention study. This current study comprises a random sample of 5,695 adults, 35 years and above from the slum areas Viwandani and Korogocho, in Nairobi. Physical activity data was collected through administration of questionnaires, with biometric measurements taken for blood pressure, both at baseline and end line.

Key Findings: Most of the slum residents engage in moderate intensity work. Men were more likely to engage in vigorous and both vigorous and moderate work, as compared to women. 95% of the slum residents did not engage in any form of sport activity, with more men likely to engage in sports as compared to women. On the other hand, walking and biking were the most common forms of physical activity for both genders, with over 90% of the population engaging in it. However, 61% of the population walk or bike for less than 2 hours daily. Multivariate linear regression analysis showed no significant association between SBP and physical activity at work in the null model. However, after controlling for sex, there was a significant association between SBP with those involved in both vigorous and moderate work (coefficient -0.44, p value 0.05). In model 2, after controlling for both sex and age, the previous association is lost (p value 0.32). Further addition of potential confounders in model 3 (Income, duration of walking or biking, tobacco and alcohol use) and the full model 4 (all indicator variables and BMI) did not yield any significant association.

Conclusion: There is a high work-related and transport related prevalence of physical activity but a low prevalence of sporting activities. No significant association between physical activity at work and SBP was observed after controlling for other potential confounders.