The burden of hypertension and unmet need for hypertension care among men aged 15–54 years: a population-based cross-sectional study in India

Abstract Hypertension is one of the primary causes of morbidity and premature mortality among the working-age population in India. This study evaluated the burden of hypertension and unmet need for hypertension care among working-age men aged 15–54 years in India using data from the fourth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4, 2015–16). An individual was recognized as hypertensive if his blood pressure was over 140/90 mmHg or if he was consuming anti-hypertensive medication to lower his blood pressue. The study design was based on the Rule of Halves framework. Hypertensive cases were segmented into five analytical levels: (1) total, (2) screened, (3) diagnosed, (4) treated and (5) controlled cases. The prevalence of hypertension was 16% ( n =16,254) among the men aged 15–54 years. Of the total hypertensive individuals, 63.2% (10,314) were screened, 21.5% (3428) were diagnosed, 12.6% (1862) were treated and only 6.1% (905) had controlled blood pressure. Of the screened individuals, 66.8% (6886) had never been diagnosed, 45.7% (1566) of those diagnosed had not receive treatment and 51.4% (957) of those treated still had uncontrolled blood pressure. The analyses revealed that 36.5% (5940) of hypertensive individuals were lost at the screening stage. The results demonstrate that there is a significant burden of hypertension and unmet need for hypertension care among men aged 15–54 in India. There is an urgent need to develop suitable strategies and programmes to manage this rising burden of hypertension among men, and reduce losses in the hypertension care continuum.