Objectives: To estimate the awareness, treatment and control rate, as well as to identify the awareness-related factors for hypertension.
Methods: The study participants were 482 adults (men 206, women 276), aged 45 or over, diagnosed with hypertension and living in Chuncheon. The awareness rate was defined as the proportion of persons among those with hypertension who had previously been diagnosed by a physician. The treatment rate was defined as the proportion of persons who had used anti-hypertensive medication, among those who were aware of their hypertension. The control rate was defined as the proportion of persons who kept blood pressure normal, among those who had been treated for their hypertension. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was carried out for the awareness related factors using SAS VER 8.1.
Results: The awareness, treatment, and control rate were 55.8% (53.4% for men; 57.6% for women), 89.6% (87.2% for men; 91.2% for women), and 34.4% (28.1% for men; 38.6% for women), respectively. The awareness related factors included a family history of hypertension (odds ratio[OR], 5.63; 95% confidence interval[95% CI]=1.53-20.72), smoking([Ex; OR 0.38, 95% CI= 0.15- 0.96)], [Current; OR 0.28, 95% CI=0.10-0.80]), and alcohol intake ([Ex; OR 3.22, 95% CI 1.03-10.09],[Current; OR 3.36, 95% CI=1.30-8.71]) for men, and education(OR 2.23, 95% CI=1.10-4.53), body mass index(OR 2.72, 95% CI=1.13-6.53), and self-rated health(OR 2.38, 95% CI=1.07-5.30) for women.
Conclusions: The awareness rate of hypertension among the middle aged and elderly in Chuncheon was 55.8%. The related factors of awareness were gender specific. Further studies are needed to elucidate the putative reasons for these gender differences.