Trends in hypertension prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control: an 8-year follow-up study from rural North India

Abstract

Hypertension is a major contributor to global CVD burden. LMICs including India is challenged with rising hypertension prevalence, yet limited studies are available on temporal change and incidence among community-cohorts. This study aimed to describe trends in hypertension prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control over 8 years among a rural community-cohort from Haryana, India. The study also lends towards an analysis of incidence. Adults ≥ 30 years (N = 1542) recruited during baseline cross-sectional study between 2011 and 2014 were followed up after a median 8.1 years. At endline, demographic/lifestyle characteristics and blood pressure were re-examined. Overall median SBP significantly increased from 120 mmHg at baseline to 125.5 mmHg at endline (p < 0.001), while hypertension prevalence increased from 34.4% (95% CI 32.0–36.9) to 40.4% (95% CI 37.5–43.4) (p = 0.002). Age-standardized hypertension incidence was 30.2% (95% CI 26.7–35.2) over 8 years. Among hypertensive group, awareness, treatment, and control increased from 9.6, 8.8 and 5.0% to 31.8, 27.3 and 9.6% (p < 0.05), respectively. Increasing trend in SBP and hypertension prevalence was observed as the cohort ages. This increase is supported by the high incidence of hypertension. Nevertheless, our study highlights positive trends in hypertension care cascade but poor control, suggesting that this trend may not be adequately impactful to reduce hypertension burden.

District-Wise Heterogeneity in Blood Pressure Measurements, Prehypertension, Raised Blood Pressure, and Their Determinants Among Indians: National Family Health Survey-5

“…The study investigated various sociodemographic and behaviour factors linked to blood pressure measurement and the prevalence of prehypertension and raised blood pressure. Age was a significant factor, with older individuals having higher odds of these conditions [19,28,[31][32][33]. These findings were consistent with prior research, including a repeated crosssectional analysis conducted using NFHS data [34].…”

“…However the prevalence of raised blood pressure did not vary significantly, which is consistent with some previous study [ 11 ]. Conversely, several studies in India have highlighted rural-urban discrepancies in raised blood pressure prevalence [ 14 , 20 , 32 , 38 ]. This may indicate a potential narrowing of the urban-rural divide, even concerning other non-communicable diseases and their associated risk factors [ 43 ].…”

Can targeted interventions aimed at improving mental health and reducing symptoms of depression in hypertensive patients, lead to increased medication compliance and improved longevity? A systematic review

“…1 Due to its high incidence and the ensuing chronic renal disease, stroke and cardiovascular disease, hypertension is a significant worldwide health concern. [2][3] Ten percent to 80% of hypertension patients do not follow their antihypertensive treatment regimens, which is one of the major causes of inadequate blood pressure control 4 thereby leading to complications.…”