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Treatment of hypertension in Germany: is there a social gradient?

  • Original Article
  • Published:
International Journal of Public Health

Abstract

Objectives

Effective hypertension control remains low without much improvement since the 1990s. However, information is limited whether and how social status impacts on hypertension control.

Methods

Data from the German Health Survey 1998 are used to explore the role of social status according to educational achievement in treating hypertension, adjusted for key determinants in a logistic regression.

Results

Actual as well as population prevalence (≥140 mmHg/≥90 mmHg) is highest in the lowest of the three social classes with 59.4 and 51.9% as compared to 44.5 and 40.5% in the highest. Physician contacts during the previous year were also highest in the lower class with 76.0% as compared to 59.0% in the highest. The logistic regression revealed insignificant odds ratios (OR) of 1.46 for the highest and 1.12 for the middle class for treatment of known hypertension after adjusting for gender (OR for females, 1.38), age (OR for 60–69 years, 13.13), GP visits (OR, 1.43) and living in East Germany (OR, 1.56).

Conclusions

German survey data for antihypertensive treatment do not show any significant disadvantage for the lowest social class.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Bielefeld, POB 100131, 33501, Bielefeld, Germany

    Ulrich Laaser & Jürgen Breckenkamp

  2. Centre School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia

    Vesna Bjegovic

Authors
  1. Ulrich Laaser
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  2. Jürgen Breckenkamp
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  3. Vesna Bjegovic
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Correspondence to Jürgen Breckenkamp.

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Laaser, U., Breckenkamp, J. & Bjegovic, V. Treatment of hypertension in Germany: is there a social gradient?. Int J Public Health 57, 185–191 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-011-0274-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-011-0274-4

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