Prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of hypertension among the elderly in a resettlement colony of Delhi.

BACKGROUND: With the increase of the elderly population in India, chronic diseases like hypertension are becoming an important public health problem. Thus, the present study was carried out to assess prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension among elderly in a resettlement colony of Delhi.
METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional survey was carried out, using systematic random sampling technique. A total of 294 (119 male and 175 female) subjects aged 60 years or more were studied. Of the total subjects, 210 (71%) were in 60-69 years, 57 (19.47%) were in 70-79 years, and 27 (9.2%) were more than 80 years of age. Blood pressure of each subject was measured on two visits, 1 week apart and was graded according to World Health Organization-International Society of Hypertension/VI Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of high blood pressure guidelines. Anthropometric variables and other associated risk factors were also studied.
RESULTS: Hypertension was present in 116 subjects (39.5%), it was more among males 49 (41%) as compared to females 67 (38%). Among the hypertensive subjects, 60 (51.7%) were aware of their condition, 45 (39%) were on treatment, and 17 (14.67%) were controlled on treatment. Level of awareness and treatment were significantly higher among the females. Body mass index of 25 or more and alcohol consumption were found to be significantly associated with risk of having high blood pressure.
CONCLUSION: Prevalence of hypertension in the present study was 39.5%, while level of awareness, treatment, and control were 50%, 39%, and 14.6%, respectively.