Capsule Commentary on Johnson et al., Antihypertensive Medication Initiation Among Young Adults with Regular Primary Care Use

Abstract

In this study1, Johnson et al. compared the rates of antihypertensive medication initiation in > 10,000 young (18–39 years) and older adults with regular primary care use. They found that after a mean follow-up of 20 months, only 34 % of young adults with incident hypertension were started on antihypertensive therapy or had blood pressure (BP) normalization prior to the start of therapy, compared with 44 % of 40–59 year-olds and 56 % of ≥ 60 year-olds. Authors concluded that despite regular primary care use and continued elevated BP, young adults had a 44 % slower rate of antihypertensive medication initiation than older adults.