CHOOSING A DEFINITION OF HYPERTENSION - IMPACT ON EPIDEMIOLOGIC ESTIMATES

Objective To assess the impact of the use of different definitions on epidemiological estimates of hypertension. Method The four most common ly accepted definitions of hypertension were applied to the 2353 subje cts of a hypertension population prevalence survey in Quebec. Results Depending on the definition used, the estimated prevalences of hyperte nsion ranged from 9.6 to 19.9%, from 9.3 to 22.5% for men and from 9.9 to 17.4% for women, Successful control ranged from 15.5 to 68.1%. Reg ardless of the definition employed, lack of case detection was the mai n barrier to hypertension control, from 73.2 to 77.1% for men and from 34.6 to 62.0% for women. Lack of appropriate treatment or compliance, or both, was a more important barrier to blood pressure control for w omen than for men. Conclusion This study shows that the choice of a de finition has an important impact on clinically and epidemiologically r elevant hypertension estimates for impending clinical and public healt h decisions.