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. 2022 Aug 1;35(8):723-730.
doi: 10.1093/ajh/hpac053.

Prevalence, Treatment, and Control of Hypertension Among US Women of Reproductive Age by Race/Hispanic Origin

Nicole D Ford  1 , Cheryl L Robbins  1 , Donald K Hayes  2 , Jean Y Ko  1   3 , Fleetwood Loustalot  2   3
Affiliations

Prevalence, Treatment, and Control of Hypertension Among US Women of Reproductive Age by Race/Hispanic Origin

Nicole D Ford et al. Am J Hypertens. .

Abstract

Background: To explore the prevalence, pharmacologic treatment, and control of hypertension among US nonpregnant women of reproductive age by race/Hispanic origin to identify potential gaps in care.

Methods: We pooled data from the 2011 to March 2020 (prepandemic) National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey cycles. Our analytic sample included 4,590 nonpregnant women aged 20-44 years who had at least 1 examiner-measured blood pressure (BP) value. We estimated prevalences and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of hypertension, pharmacologic treatment, and control based on the 2003 Joint Committee on High Blood Pressure (JNC 7) and the 2017 American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) guidelines. We evaluated differences by race/Hispanic origin using Rao-Scott chi-square tests.

Results: Applying ACC/AHA guidelines, hypertension prevalence ranged from 14.0% (95% CI: 12.0, 15.9) among Hispanic women to 30.9% (95% CI: 27.8, 34.0) among non-Hispanic Black women. Among women with hypertension, non-Hispanic Black women had the highest eligibility for pharmacological treatment (65.5%, 95% CI: 60.4, 70.5); current use was highest among White women (61.8%, 95% CI: 53.8, 69.9). BP control ranged from 5.2% (95% CI: 1.1, 9.3) among women of another or multiple non-Hispanic races to 18.6% (95% CI: 12.1, 25.0) among Hispanic women.

Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of monitoring hypertension, pharmacologic treatment, and control by race/Hispanic origin and addressing barriers to equitable hypertension care among women of reproductive age.

Keywords: blood pressure; chronic disease; disparities; hypertension; prevalence; women of reproductive age.

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Conflict of interest statement

DISCLOSURE

The authors declared no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Hypertension prevalence, pharmacologic treatment, and blood pressure control using 2003 JNC 7 and 2017 AHA/ACC criteria among women of reproductive age, 20–44 years, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2011–March 2020. Abbreviations: ACC/AHA, American College of Cardiologists/American Heart Association; BP, blood pressure; HTN, hypertension; JNC 7, Seventh Report of the 2003 Joint Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Hypertension prevalence, pharmacologic treatment, and blood pressure control using 2003 JNC 7 guidelines among women of reproductive age, 20–44 years, by race/Hispanic origin, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2011–March 2020. All women with hypertension per JNC 7 were eligible for guideline-recommended pharmacologic treatment. *P < 0.05. P values calculated for Rao–Scott chi-square tests. 1Prevalence of hypertension was 5.5% among non-Hispanic Asian women and 10.3% among non-Hispanic Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander and American Indian and Alaska Native women, and women identifying with more than 1 race. Abbreviations: BP, blood pressure; HTN, hypertension; JNC 7, Seventh Report of the 2003 Joint Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure; NH, non-Hispanic.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Hypertension prevalence, pharmacologic treatment, and blood pressure control using 2017 AHA/ACC guidelines among women of reproductive age, 20–44 years, by race/Hispanic origin, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2011–March 2020. *P < 0.05. P values calculated for Rao–Scott chi-square tests. 1Prevalence of hypertension was 14.6% among non-Hispanic Asian women and 24.4% among non-Hispanic Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander and American Indian and Alaska Native women, and women identifying with more than 1 race. Abbreviations: ACC, American College of Cardiologists; AHA, American Heart Association; BP, blood pressure; HTN, hypertension; NH, non-Hispanic.
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