Prevalence of Hypertension and Its Relationship with Health Complaints in Elderly Iranians: A Multi-Site Community-Based Study

Background: The prevalence of Hypertension (HTN) in developing countries might have a different pattern in different countries. Objectives: This study aimed at investigating the current pattern of HTN and evaluating its relationship with health complaints in elderly Iranian individuals in 2012. Methods: This cross sectional study used multistage sampling to investigate 1 350 Iranian elderly subjects (≥ 60 years) living in the community. Those elderly, who had a systolic blood pressure (SBP) ≥ 140 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥ 90 mmHg and/or those who used antihypertensive drugs during the previous two weeks, were considered as HTN. A face-to-face interview was performed using a structured questionnaire, including demographic factors, awareness, treatment and control of HTN, and health complaints for each individual. Chi-square test and multiple logistic regression analyses were applied to detect the most important variables related to HTN. Results: Hypertension was seen in 48.5% of individuals. Awareness, treatment, and control of HTNwere seen in 40.7%, 82.5%, and 30% of individuals, respectively. Elderly individuals with HTN had significantly more experienced visual disturbances (P = 0.03), fecal or urinary incontinence (P = 0.006), nocturia (P = 0.002), attacks of shortness of breath (P = 0.004), and hyperlipidaemia (P < 0.001). After adjusting for potential confounders such as ethnicity, nocturia (OR, 1.34; CI 95%, 1.02 - 1.75) and hyperlipidemia (OR, 1.94; 95% CI, 1.5 - 2.51) remained significantly relevant to HTN. Conclusions: The prevalence of HTN was lower in elderly community-living Iranians than developed countries, yet, was still considerable. Nocturia and hyperlipidemia were the most common health complaints in Iranian elderly with HTN.