Abstract
BackgroundThe Korean Society of Hypertension (KSH) revised the local guidelines for hypertension in 2018. The present study sought to evaluate the potential impact of the 2018 KSH guidelines on hypertension management status among the Korean population in terms of prevalence of hypertension, antihypertensive medical treatment recommendations, and control status in Korean adults.MethodsWe used data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to estimate the number and percentage of Korean adults who have hypertension according to blood pressure (BP) classification, are recommended to receive antihypertensive medical treatment, and are receiving medical treatment and have BP in the optimal range according to the new recommendations. Adults aged 30 years or older who participated in the survey between 2013 and 2015 were selected for this study.ResultsThe prevalence of hypertension was 30.5% among Korean adults aged 30 years or older. The percentage of subjects who are recommended to be treated with antihypertensive medications substantially increased from 32.5 to 37.8%, which translates to 1.6 million adults. Among the hypertensive patients who were receiving medical treatment, 38.6% were shown to have adequate BP levels as recommended by the 2018 KSH guidelines compared with 51.8% according to the previous 2013 guidelines.ConclusionsThe present study reports the potential impact of the 2018 KSH guidelines on the prevalence of hypertension, antihypertensive medical treatment recommendations, and control status for Korean adults. The 2018 KSH guidelines recommend more intensive BP control compared with previous guidelines. This study suggests that there is large scope for improvement in hypertension management in the Korean population.
Highlights
The Korean Society of Hypertension (KSH) revised the local guidelines for hypertension in 2018
Aim The present study sought to evaluate the potential impact of the 2018 KSH guidelines on hypertension management status among the Korean population in terms of prevalence of hypertension, antihypertensive medical treatment recommendations, and control status for Korean adults
Prehypertension accounted for 5.6 million adults (18.8%), whereas 1.7 million (5.5%) who had been regarded as having prehypertension according to the 2013 guidelines were classified as having elevated blood pressure (BP) according to the new guideline
Summary
The Korean Society of Hypertension (KSH) revised the local guidelines for hypertension in 2018. The present study sought to evaluate the potential impact of the 2018 KSH guidelines on hypertension management status among the Korean population in terms of prevalence of hypertension, antihypertensive medical treatment recommendations, and control status in Korean adults. Elevated blood pressure (BP) is a leading global health risk factor [1, 2]. Elevated BP increases the risk of cardiovascular and renal events in a linear manner, and evidence indicates that the linear relationship extends down to 115/75 mmHg [3]. It was shown that more intensive BP lowering would be required for many adults taking antihypertensive medication. A previous study showed that there should be a similar impact if the 2017 ACC/AHA guidelines were directly applied to the Korean population [7]
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