Incidence of Hypertension in Korea: 5-Year Follow-up Study

• Published in: Journal of Korean medical science Vol. 26; no. 10; pp. 1286 - 1292
• Main Authors: Lee, Jang Hoon, Yang, Dong Heon, Park, Hun Sik, Cho, Yongkeun, Jun, Jae Eun, Park, Wee Hyun, Chun, Byung Yeol, Shin, Ji-Yeon, Shin, Dong Hoon, Lee, Kyeong Soo, Kim, Kee-Sik, Kim, Kwon-Bae, Kim, Young Jo, Chae, Shung Chull
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korea (South) The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences 01.10.2011; 대한의학회
• Subjects: Adult; Age Factors; Aged; Antihypertensive Agents - administration & dosage; Antihypertensive Agents - therapeutic use; Blood Pressure; Blood Pressure Determination; Body Weights and Measures; Cohort Studies; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Hypertension - diagnosis; Hypertension - drug therapy; Hypertension - epidemiology; Hypertension - physiopathology; Incidence; Male; Middle Aged; Original; Republic of Korea - epidemiology; Risk Factors; Surveys and Questionnaires; 의학일반; Republic of Korea; Hypertension; Population; Blood pressure; Incidence
• ISSN: 1011-8934; 1598-6357; 1598-6357
• DOI: 10.3346/jkms.2011.26.10.1286

Limited data are available about the incidence of hypertension over the 5-yr in non-hypertensive subjects. The study subjects were 1,806 subjects enrolled in a rural area of Daegu, Korea for a cohort study from August to November 2003. Of them, 1,287 (71.3%) individuals had another examination 5 yr later. To estimate the incidence of hypertension, 730 non-hypertensive individuals (265 males; mean age = 56.6 ± 11.1 yr-old) at baseline examination were analyzed in this study. Hypertension was defined as either a new diagnosis of hypertension or self-reports of newly initiated antihypertensive treatment; prehypertension was if the systolic blood pressure was 120-139 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure was 80-89 mmHg. During the 5-yr follow-up, 195 (26.7%) non-hypertensive individuals developed incident hypertension. The age-adjusted 5-yr incidence rates of hypertension were 22.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 19.9-29.0) in overall subjects, 22.2% (95% CI = 17.2-27.2) in men, and 24.3% (95% CI = 20.4-28.2) in women. The incidence rates of hypertension significantly increased with age. In the multivariate analysis, prehypertension (Odds ratio [OR] 2.25; P < 0.001) and older age (OR 2.26; P = 0.010) were independent predictors for incident hypertension. In this rapidly aging society, population-based preventive approach to decrease blood pressure, particularly in subjects with prehypertension, is needed to reduce hypertension.