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Self-Reported and Measured Hypertension Among Older US- and Foreign-Born Adults

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Abstract

Self-reported hypertension is frequently used for health surveillance. However, little is known about the validity of self-reported hypertension among older Americans by nativity status. This study compared self-reported and measured hypertension among older black, white, and Hispanic Americans by nativity using the 2006 and 2008 Health and Retirement Study (n = 13,451). Sensitivity and specificity of self-reported hypertension were calculated using the Seventh report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure definition. Sensitivity was high among older blacks (88.9%), whites (82.8%), and Hispanics (84.0%), and both foreign-born (83.2%) and US-born (84.0%). Specificity was above 90% for both US-born and foreign-born, but higher for whites (92.8%) than blacks (86.0%). Despite the potential vulnerability of older foreign-born Americans, self-reported hypertension may be considered a reasonable estimate of hypertension status. Future research should confirm these findings in samples with a larger and more ethnically diverse foreign-born population.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from W.K. Kellogg Foundation Kellogg Health Scholars Program (P0117943), the American Heart Association grants 09PRE2080078 and 10SDG2640243, and the Milton Fund of Harvard University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health, 800 Sumter Street, Suite 205, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA

    Kellee White

  2. Center for Population and Development Studies, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Mauricio Avendaño

  3. London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Health, London, UK

    Mauricio Avendaño

  4. Department of Society, Human Development, and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Beatrix Davoli Capistrant, J. Robin Moon, Sze Y. Liu & M. Maria Glymour

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  1. Kellee White
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  2. Mauricio Avendaño
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  3. Beatrix Davoli Capistrant
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  4. J. Robin Moon
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  5. Sze Y. Liu
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  6. M. Maria Glymour
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Correspondence to Kellee White.

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White, K., Avendaño, M., Capistrant, B.D. et al. Self-Reported and Measured Hypertension Among Older US- and Foreign-Born Adults. J Immigrant Minority Health 14, 721–726 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-011-9549-3

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