Characteristics of Adults with Hypertension who are Unaware of their Hypertension, NHANES 2011–2014

Questions for Ryne Paulose, NHANES’ Associate Director for Science and Lead Author of “Characteristics of Adults with Hypertension who are Unaware of their Hypertension, NHANES 2011–2014”

Q: What made you want to do a report on adults with hypertension who are unaware of their hypertension?

RP: We have a number of NCHS brief reports on prevalence of hypertension, awareness, control, and treatment.  We wanted to publish a brief report that further characterizes adults who are unaware of their hypertension. Being undiagnosed and unaware of having hypertension is a problem since these blood pressure for these adults will remain above normal levels and have potentially damaging effects.

Q: It looks there was a major decline in the number of adults with hypertension that were unaware they had it since 1999-2002 data?  Do you know why there has been a significant decline?

RP: Yes, there was a 46% decline from 1999-2002 to 2011-2014, in the percent of adults with hypertension who were unaware. The decline was seen across all age groups. But the decline was greater for those 60 years and older.

We did not specifically examine reasons for the decline in this brief report. But in our report, we do see that the percent unware was lower among adults with health insurance or with increased healthcare visits in the prior year. This implies that increased contact with a healthcare provider increases the chances that high blood pressure will be identified and diagnosed.

Q: Were there major differences in income and education level among adults with hypertension who were unaware of their hypertension?

RP: Generally, there were no differences by income or education level in the percent of adults with hypertension who were unaware. About 14-18% of adults at different income levels were unaware and about 14-19% of adults at different education levels were unaware.

Q: Was there anything in your report that surprised you?

RP: The oversampling of Asian Americans in NHANES is new as of 2011. So, the estimates for Non-Hispanic Asians was an unknown from earlier years. So, the differences we reported did surprise me. Further analysis is in progress to better understand these differences.

Q: What is the take home message from this report?

RP: Although we’ve seen a significant decline in the percent of adults with hypertension who were unaware of their hypertension, nearly 1 in 6 adults with hypertension is unaware of his/her hypertension. Additional efforts may be needed to identify and diagnose these individuals for management and control of their high blood pressure.