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Pre-hypertension is a common phenomenon: national database study

Eliezer Kitai1, Shlomo Vinker, Lea Halperin

  • 1Department of Family Medicine, Leumit Health Services, Tel Aviv, Israel.

The Israel Medical Association Journal : IMAJ
|February 6, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Prevalence of pre-hypertension is high in adults, increasing with age and affecting men more than women. Routine blood pressure checks are crucial for all age groups.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Public Health
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • The Joint National Committee (7th report) defined pre-hypertension, but its population prevalence remains largely unknown.
  • Understanding pre-hypertension prevalence is critical for public health initiatives.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the prevalence of pre-hypertension within a large Israeli national cohort.
  • To analyze demographic variations in pre-hypertension prevalence.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of blood pressure data from over 426,000 adult members of Leumit Health Services in Israel.
  • Pre-hypertension defined using the Joint National Committee 7th edition (JNC-7) criteria.
  • Blood pressure recording rates examined across age and gender demographics.

Main Results:

  • Pre-hypertension was identified in 23.2% of subjects (80,625 individuals).
  • Prevalence increased significantly with age, from 13.3% in 18-25 year olds to 44.8% in 66-75 year olds.
  • Men (24.0%) had a higher prevalence than women (22.5%).

Conclusions:

  • A substantial portion of the adult population exhibits pre-hypertension, with significant age-related increases.
  • Despite lower overall blood pressure, young populations may have a high prevalence of pre-hypertension.
  • Routine blood pressure measurement and further research across all age groups are recommended.
Abstract

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