Rates and Determinants of Isolated Systolic Uncontrolled Hypertension Among US Adults

Isolated systolic uncontrolled hypertension (ISUH), associated with cardiovascular and renal diseases, is one type of uncontrolled hypertension. As the population is aging, it becomes the dominant form in hypertensive patients with uncontrolled hypertension. The objective of this study is to investigate the rates of ISUH stratified by demographic factors and the determinants associated with ISUH in the US Adults. Cross-sectional data were collected from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2010 Demographics, Examination, and Questionnaire components with stratified multistage sampling designs. A total of 9,004 participants with diagnosed hypertension aged ≥ 18 were included in the final sample. The adjusted odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using multiple logistic regression models. Of the people who had hypertension, 4,479(49.74%) had ISUH. Compared with women, men are 10% less likely to have ISUH. Middle-age adults ages 40-64 are 30% less likely to have ISUH than young adults ages 18-39. Blacks are 5% less likely of having ISUH than Whites. Adults with at least some college education were 18% less likely to have ISUH than those who have no college education. Those that were labeled as obese were 42% less likely to have ISUH than those that are normal weight. About half of the people who are hypertensive have ISUH. Age, race, education, and obesity appear to be the major determinants of middle and older adults when it comes to having ISUH. Health care providers should educate their patients with ISUH about the dangers of having it and do more to try to keep their ISH under more control. Also, health care professionals should do more to educate the general public about getting their blood pressure checked. If the individual knows it has ISH, then they can keep it under control.