Race and Sex Differentials in the Impact of Hypertension in the United States

Hypertension was evaluated longitudinally in a nationally representative sample of the US population. This study, based on the data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey NHANES I Epidemiologic Follow-up Study, analyzed changes in blood pressure and frequency of treatment, hypertension incidence, and ten-year survival of the cohort relative to hypertension status at baseline. Higher prevalence rates for each older age group, especially in women, as previously reported on data from community studies were confirmed. However, this analysis found minimal differences in the incidence of hypertension between men and women for all age groups. Incidence rates for blacks were at least twice the rates for whites for almost every age-sex group. Decreased survival in older hypertensive men probably explained the higher prevalence in older women. Treatment and location of measurement in clinic or household must be major considerations in the calculation of incident cases.