Age Differences in Visits to Office-based Physicians by Adults With Hypertension: United States, 2013

Data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey •The percentage of all adult visits to office-based physicians made by adults with hypertension increased with age, from 9% for those aged 18-44 to 58% for those aged 75 and over. •Hypertensive medications were provided, prescribed, or continued at 62% of visits made by adults with hypertension. •Eighty-two percent of visits by adults with hypertension were made by those with multiple chronic conditions, and the number of chronic conditions increased with age. •Diseases of the circulatory system increased as age increased, from 23% for those aged 18-44 to 29% for those aged 75 and over. Hypertension is a chronic condition that affects 31% of adults in the United States (1). The prevalence of hypertension increases with age, from 7% among those aged 18-39 to 65% among those aged 60 and over (2). This report describes age differences for chronic conditions mentioned, hypertensive medications prescribed, doctor visits in the past year, and selected primary diagnoses for office-based physician visits made by adults with hypertension. Adults with hypertension were defined as those aged 18 and over who have been diagnosed with hypertension, regardless of the diagnosis for the current visit. In 2013, there were 258.5 million visits made by such patients, representing 34% of all office-based physician visits by adults (3).