Social disparities explain differences in hypertension prevalence, detection and control in Colombia

Hypertension is the principal risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. The global Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology study showed that the levels of awareness, treatment and control of this condition are very low worldwide and show large regional variations related to a country's income index. The aim of the present analysis was to identify associations between sociodemographic, geographic, anthropometric, behavioral and clinical factors and the awareness, treatment and control of hypertension within Colombia - a high-middle income country which participated in the global Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology study.

The sample comprised 7485 individuals aged 35-70 years (mean age 50.8 years, 64% women). Mean SBP and DBP were 129.12 ± 21.23 and 80.39 ± 11.81 mmHg, respectively. The overall prevalence of hypertension was 37.5% and was substantially higher amongst participants with the lowest educational level, who had a 25% higher prevalence (<0.001). Hypertension awareness, treatment amongst those aware, and control amongst those treated were 51.9, 77.5 and 37.1%, respectively. The prevalence of hypertension was higher amongst those with a higher BMI (<0.001) or larger waist-hip ratio (<0.001). Being male, younger, a rural resident and having a low level of education was associated with significantly lower hypertension awareness, treatment and control. The use of combination therapy was very low (27.5%) and was significantly lower in rural areas and amongst those with a low income.

Overall Colombia has a high prevalence of hypertension in combination with very low levels of awareness, treatment and control; however, we found large variations within the country that appear to be associated with sociodemographic disparities.