Neighborhood-Level Disparities in Hypertension Prevalence and Treatment Among Middle-Aged Adults

Hypertension in middle-aged adults (35-50 years) is associated with poorer health outcomes in late life. Understanding how hypertension varies by race and ethnicity across levels of neighborhood disadvantage may allow for better characterization of persistent disparities.

To evaluate spatial patterns of hypertension diagnosis and treatment by neighborhood socioeconomic position and racial and ethnic composition.

In this cross-sectional study of middle-aged adults in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, who encountered primary care in 2019, geocoded electronic health record data were linked to the area deprivation index (ADI), a neighborhood disadvantage measure, at the US Census Block Group level (ie, neighborhood). Neighborhoods were stratified by ADI quintiles, with the highest quintile indicating the most disadvantage. Data were analyzed between August 7, 2023, and June 1, 2024.

Essential hypertension.

The primary outcome was a clinician diagnosis of essential hypertension. Spatial analysis was used to characterize neighborhood-level patterns of hypertension prevalence and treatment. Interaction analysis was used to compare hypertension prevalence by racial and ethnic group within similar ADI quintiles.

A total of 56 387 adults (median [IQR] age, 43.1 [39.1-46.9] years; 59.8% female) across 1157 neighborhoods, which comprised 3.4% Asian, 31.1% Black, 5.5% Hispanic, and 60.0% White patients, were analyzed. A gradient of hypertension prevalence across ADI quintiles was observed, with the highest vs lowest ADI quintile neighborhoods having a higher hypertension rate (50.7% vs 25.5%) and a lower treatment rate (61.3% vs 64.5%). Of the 315 neighborhoods with predominantly Black (>75%) patient populations, 200 (63%) had a hypertension rate greater than 35% combined with a treatment rate of less than 70%; only 31 of 263 neighborhoods (11.8%) comprising 5% or less Black patient populations met this same criterion. Compared with a spatial model without covariates, inclusion of ADI and percentage of Black patients accounted for 91% of variation in hypertension diagnosis prevalence among men and 98% among women. Men had a higher prevalence of hypertension than women across race and ADI quintiles, but the association of ADI and hypertension risk was stronger in women. Sex prevalence differences were smallest between Black men and women, particularly in the highest ADI quintile (1689 [60.0%] and 2592 [56.0%], respectively).

These findings show an association between neighborhood deprivation and hypertension prevalence, with disparities observed particularly among Black patients, emphasizing a need for structural interventions to improve community health.