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Time Trends of High Blood Pressure Prevalence, Awareness and Control in the Italian General Population

Surveys of the National Institute of Health

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Abstract

Introduction

High blood pressure (BP) is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The urgency of the problem was underlined by the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Action Plan for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases, which recommends a 25% relative reduction in the prevalence of raised BP by 2020. A surveillance system represents a useful tool to monitor BP in the general population. Since 1980s, the National Institute of Health has conducted several surveys of the adult general population, measuring cardiovascular risk factors by standardized procedures and methods.

Aim

To describe mean BP levels and high BP prevalence from 1978 to 2012 by sex and quinquennia of age.

Methods

Data were derived from the following three studies: (i) Risk Factors and Life Expectancy (RIFLE), conducted between 1978 and 2002 in 13 Italian regions (>70,000 persons); (ii) Osservatorio Epidemiologico Cardiovascolare (OEC), conducted between 1998–2002 in the general population from all Italian regions (>9000 persons); and (iii) Osservatorio Epidemiologico Cardiovascolare/Health Examination Survey (OEC/HES), conducted between 2008–2012 in the general population from all Italian regions (>9000 persons).

Results

A significant decrease in mean systolic and diastolic BP levels and prevalence of high BP from 1978 to 2012 was observed both in men and women. BP and high BP increased by age classes in all considered periods. BP awareness and control also improved.

Conclusion

Our data suggest that BP control could be achieved by 2020, as recommended by WHO.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cardiovascular, Dysmetabolic and Ageing-Associated Diseases, National Institute of Health, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy

    Anna Di Lonardo, Chiara Donfrancesco, Luigi Palmieri & Simona Giampaoli

  2. Italian Association of Hospital Cardiologists (ANMCO)-Heart Care Foundation, Florence, Italy

    Diego Vanuzzo

Authors
  1. Anna Di Lonardo
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  2. Chiara Donfrancesco
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  3. Luigi Palmieri
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  4. Diego Vanuzzo
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  5. Simona Giampaoli
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anna Di Lonardo.

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Funding

The Osservatorio Epidemiologico Cardiovascolare/Health Examination Survey was supported by grants from the Italian Association of Hospital Cardiologists-Heart Care Foundation (ANMCO—HCF); the Joint Action of the European Health Examination Survey; the Italian Ministry of Health, Centre of Disease Control (CCM), with the following contracts: Studio di fattibilità per la realizzazione de Il Progetto CUORE-Epidemiologia e Prevenzione delle Malattie Cardiovascolari; MINISAL-GIRCSI – Buone Pratiche sull’Alimentazione: Valutazione del Contenuto di Sodio, Potassio e Iodio nella Dieta degli Italiani; Azioni relative alla Riduzione del Consumo di Sale in Italia: Verifica delle Ricadute dell’Accordo con i Panificatori e Programma MENO SALE PIÙ SALUTE.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individuals examined in the OEC and OEC/HES surveys.

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Di Lonardo, A., Donfrancesco, C., Palmieri, L. et al. Time Trends of High Blood Pressure Prevalence, Awareness and Control in the Italian General Population. High Blood Press Cardiovasc Prev 24, 193–200 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40292-017-0201-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40292-017-0201-8

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