Prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of hypertension in Greece: national epidemiological study emeno

Abstract

OBJECTIVE Investigation of the prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of hypertension in Greece through the nationwide epidemiological study EMENO (2013–2016). METHOD The multi-stage stratified random sampling method was applied to select a representative sample of the adult (≥18 years) general population involving 577 areas throughout Greece. Hypertension was defined as blood pressure (BP) ≥140/90 mmHg (average of 2nd–3rd mea-surement) and or use of antihypertensive drugs. Three BP measurements were obtained using validated electronic upper-arm device. RESULTS A total of 6,006 individuals were recruited and 4,699 with complete data were analyzed with mean age 49.2±18.6 years, 48.6% men, and mean body mass index (BMI) 28.2±5.7 kg/m². The prevalence of hypertension was 39.6% (men/women 42.7/36.5%; p<0.001). Among hypertensive subjects, 31.8% were unaware, 2.7% were aware but untreated, 35.1% were treated but uncontrolled, and 30.5% treated and controlled. CONCLUSIONS The ΕΜΕΝΟ epidemiologic study in a general population sample of adults in Greece showed that the prevalence of hypertension is rising and affects 40% of the adults. Among patients with hypertension, about 1/3 are undiagnosed and less than 1/3 are controlled with treatment. Nationwide programs for the prevention, detection and control of hypertension in Greece are needed, aimed at improving BP control and preventing a rise in the incidence of cardiovascular diseases the next decades. © Athens Medical Society.