Detection and treatment of hypertension in general health-care practice: a patient-based study.

The aim of this study was to describe the pattern of blood pressure (BP) distribution in a multiethnic primary care practice in relation to sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle and risk factors. Another aim was to analyse the quality of diagnosis and effectiveness of hypertension (HT) treatment. In all, 470 adult patients (> or =16 years old) who visited the Jordbro Health Centre (JHC), Haninge Municipality, participated in this study. A general questionnaire with questions about sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle, health status and chronic disease was used. Medical records: information on consultations with the general practitioner and prescriptions were collected from the medical records for the year 2001. Furthermore, a medical examination was performed: this consisted of weight, height, systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure, and laboratory analyses including fasting blood glucose, serum cholesterol, serum triglycerides, electrocardiogram and spirometry. Out of 464 patients, 114 (24.6%) reported HT. Among the HT patients, 93 (81.6%) had SBP > or =140 mmHg and 52 (45.6%) DBP > or =90 mmHg. Among the nonhypertensive patients (n=350), 120 (34.3%) had SBP > or =140 mmHg and 50 (14.3%) DBP > or =90 mmHg. Furthermore, there are some patients with high BP who are unknown or undetected. HT treatment among this population is unsatisfactory and greater efforts are required to identify people with high BP and to ensure that they are managed according to the best available evidence.