CLINICAL HYPERTENSION AND ITS INTERACTION WITH DIABETES AMONG AMERICAN-INDIANS AND ALASKA NATIVES - ESTIMATED RATES FROM AMBULATORY CARE DATA

OBJECTIVE - To estimate the prevalence of clinical hypertension and describe the coexistence with diabetes in American indian and Alaska Native communities. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS - A cross-sectional study of outpatient visits for hypertension and diabetes over a 1-yr period (1 October 1986 to 30 September 1987) in IHS facilities was conducted. RESULTS - The 1987 estimated age-adjusted prevalence of diagnosed hypertension for this group was 10.9/100 for people greater-than-or-equal-to 15 yr of age. Thirty-seven percent of diabetic patients were diagnosed with hypertension. The relative risk of hypertension in the diabetic populations compared with the nondiabetic population varied from 4.7 to 7.7 among the different IHS areas. CONCLUSIONs - Despite high rates of diabetes and obesity, hypertension rates were relatively low among American Indians and Alaska Natives when compared with other ethnic groups in the U.S.