The Prevalence of Arterial Hypertension in Romanian Adult Population: Results from the Predatorr Study

Background and aims : PREDATORR is a national study designed to estimate the prevalence of diabetes mellitus, prediabetes, overweight, obesity, dyslipidemia, hyperuricemia and chronic kidney disease in Romanian adult population. The aim of present study was to estimate the prevalence, incidence, treatment and control in subjects from PREDATORR study. Material and methods: This study included 2727 adults aged 20 – 79 years. Subjects were examined, and three measurements were performed at a time of at least one minute and the mean of blood pressure readings was recorded. Hypertension was defined as systolic blood pressure ≥ 140 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure ≥ 90 mmHg and/or antihypertensive drug therapy. Results: The prevalence of hypertension in Romanian adult population aged 20 – 79 years was 47.38% and was higher in men: 48.62% than women: 46.23%. The incidence of hypertension was: 10.7% in 20 – 39 years age group, 43.1% in 40 – 59 years age group and 75.1% in subjects aged ≥ 60 years. Among subjects with hypertension, 18.7% did not receive antihypertensive drug therapy, 27.7% received antihypertensive treatment in monotherapy, 34.7% were under double antihypertensive drugs and most of them (37.6%) received three or more antihypertensive drugs. Conclusions: The prevalence of hypertension in Romania is high, possible explanations of this might be the unhealthy lifestyle and diet.