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Prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of hypertension in Galicia (Spain) and association with related diseases

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 21, pages 366–373 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

The present study evaluated the prevalence of hypertension (HT) and its possible relationships with various risk factors in a representative sample (n=2884) of the adult population (>18 years old) of Galicia, a region of Spain. Subjects were selected by a two-step cluster sampling procedure from the Galician public health service database, which covers more than 95% of the population (2.7 million inhabitants). The overall prevalence of HT, defined as BP >140/90 mm Hg and/or current treatment with antihypertensive medication, was 25.5%, higher in men (31.1%) than in women (20.7%). Of the hypertensive subjects 50.6% were aware of the HT; of these, 72.0% were receiving treatment and 36.4% were treated and controlled. The prevalence of HT increased with age and was higher in subjects from urban areas than rural areas and higher in subjects with low educational level. Surprisingly, people with low educational level more frequently showed awareness of HT than people with high education level. Increased body mass index was related to increased prevalence of HT and close associations were observed between HT and cardiovascular diseases. Our data also show a linear upward trend in blood pressure from normal glucose metabolism to diabetes mellitus. Surprisingly, the prevalence of HT among people with known diabetes was higher than among people with undetected diabetes, which may indicate poor control of HT in diabetic subjects.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the FENGA Foundation. The work of Cadarso-Suárez C was supported by grant MTM2005-00818 (European FEDER support included) from the Spanish Ministry of Education.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Physiology, School of Medicine, University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain

    R Perez-Fernandez

  2. Servicio de Endocrinoloxía, Centro de Especialidades Coya, Vigo

    A F Mariño

  3. Statistics and Operations Research (Unit of Biostatistics), School of Medicine, University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain

    C Cadarso-Suarez

  4. Servicio de Endocrinoloxia, Hospital Xeral Calde, Lugo

    M A Botana

  5. Servicio de Endocrinoloxia, Hospital Clinico Universitario, Santiago de Compostela, Spain

    M A Tome

  6. Servicio de Endocrinoloxia, Hospital Cristal-Piñor, Ourense

    I Solache & A J Mato

  7. Servicio de Endocrinoloxía, Clinica Povisa, Vigo

    A Rego-Iraeta

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  1. R Perez-Fernandez
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  2. A F Mariño
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  3. C Cadarso-Suarez
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  4. M A Botana
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Correspondence to R Perez-Fernandez.

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Perez-Fernandez, R., Mariño, A., Cadarso-Suarez, C. et al. Prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of hypertension in Galicia (Spain) and association with related diseases. J Hum Hypertens 21, 366–373 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jhh.1002158

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