Introduction Hypertension is a major factor related to morbidity and mortality in the middle and high income countries.
Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess the incidence and prevalence of registered hypertension in Poland in 2018-2022.
Patients and methods: We used the public payer claims database to assess incidence and prevalence of registered hypertension. Hypertension was defined using International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision codes from I10 to I15.
Results: The number of registered hypertension cases varied from 10.85 mln to 11.00 mln during the analyzed period. The prevalence was 0.5%, 0.5%, 0.5%, 0.4%, and 0.4% (P <0.001) in children (age <18 years) and 34.4%, 34.8%, 34.9%, 35.2%, 35.2% (P <0.001) among adults in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022, respectively. In 2022, mean age of persons with registered hypertension was 66.2 (14.1) years in females and 60.8 (14.8) years in males (P <0.001). The highest incidence of registered hypertension was found in men aged 55-59 years and in women aged 50-54 years. The registered prevalence of hypertension is higher among men up-to the age of 54 years, and higher in women in older age groups reaching 94% and 87% in the oldest old women and men, respectively.
Conclusions: Number of patients with registered hypertension in Poland reaches 11 mln, while the prevalence was 35.2% in adults and 0.4% in children in 2022. In the population under the age of 55 years hypertension is more common in men, while in older age groups women predominate.