Socio-economic risk factors of hypertension in the elderly

Purpose . To assess the frequency of detection of essential hypertension in persons aged over 60 years depending on the socio-economic risk factors. Material and Methods . A total of 582 people aged 60 to 70 years were studied. All participants were surveyed to determine the level of education, income, professional affiliation, and family composition. Statistical data processing was carried out using Statistica 6.0 software. The significance level for statistical hypothesis testing in the study was <0.05. Results and Discussion . Hypertension occurred in 87.2% of rural residents and in 84.6% of urban residents (p = 0.429). This condition was diagnosed in 82.7% of men and 86.1% of women (p = 0.339). Regression analysis showed that holding a managerial position was associated with an increase in mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) by 3.1 mmHg (p = 0.013). Formal marriage or common-law marriage was associated with an increase in mean SBP by 2.4 mmHg (p = 0.034) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) by 2.2 mmHg (p = 0.002). Living in rural areas was associated with decreased mean DBP by 1.66 mmHg (p = 0.015). The prevalence rates of hypertension were 90.5% in widows and 73.7% in women who had never been married (p = 0.031). No statistically significant differences were found between men with different marital status; however, the maximum prevalence of hypertension was observed among divorced men; the minimum prevalence was observed among widowers. Conclusions . There was no difference in the frequency of detection of hypertension between urban and rural older adults. The highest prevalence of hypertension among women was observed in widows; the lowest prevalence was found in women who had never been married. Among men, the highest prevalence of hypertension was observed in divorced persons; the minimum prevalence was detected in widowers, but the difference was not statistically significant.