Prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension in Greece - The Didima study

To assess the prevalence and the levels of awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension in the rural population of Greece, a cross-sectional survey of the total population age greater than or equal to 18 years of the village Didima was conducted. The survey included an interview and blood pressure (BP) measurement on two clinic visits. Hypertension was defined as systolic BP greater than or equal to 140 mm Hg and or diastolic BP greater than or equal to 90 mm Hg or current treatment with antihypertensive drugs. The same BP threshold was used for the assessment of hypertension control. A total of 694 inhabitants participated (response rate 76.4%), and 665 were analyzed. The prevalence of hypertension was 28.4% (men 30.2%, women 27.1%). Of the subjects age greater than or equal to 65 years, 50% had hypertension. Although 73% of participants were measuring their BP at least once a year, overall, 39.2% of hypertensives were unaware of the diagnosis (men 50%, women 30.5%), 6.3% were aware but not treated (men 4.8%, women 7.6%), 27.5% were treated but not controlled (men 22.6%, women 31.4%), and 27% were treated and controlled (men 22.6%, women 30.5%). These results suggest that, in the rural population of Greece, hypertension is a common risk factor with considerable potential for improvement in levels of control. (C) 1999 American Journal of Hypertension, Ltd.