Awareness, treatment and control of hypertension among the elderly living in their home in Tunisia

A community based sample of 598 non-institutionalized elderly (age ≥ 65 years), was selected using probabilistic multistage cluster sampling.There was a predominance of female (66%) and mean age was 72.3 ± 7.4 years. The prevalence of hypertension was 52% (n = 311), awareness (81%, n = 252), treatment (78.4%, n = 244) and only 30.7% (n = 75) are correctly treated. The prevalence of hypertension was higher for the female population (55.5%) when compared to males (45%). No urban/rural differences were observed and no difference was observed by educational level. Multiple logistic regression analyses identified a higher body mass index, diabetes mellitus and disability as important correlates of the prevalence of hypertension.These findings provide important information on the prevalence, awareness and control of hypertension in Monastir City and confirm their association with other cardio-vascular risk factors. Effective public health measures and strategies are needed to improve prevention, diagnosis and access to treatment of this elderly population.Hypertension is the leading cause of cardiovascular disease worldwide. Recent studies demonstrate that there is a linear correlation between blood pressure and cardiovascular events [1]. Hypertension is also a major cause of disability, causing an estimated 13% of all deaths in the world [2]. More than 20% of adults are hypertensive with a very poor rate of control and only one third of hypertensive patients treated achieve the correct goal of blood pressure [3]. Age represents a determining factor in the prevalence of arterial hypertension. Epidemiological research has demonstrated that age plays an important role in increasing pressure value, especially systolic blood pressure that tends to increase with age [4,5]. Acknowledgement of the prevalence and the significant impact of hypertension in elderly, on the cardiovascular risk and quality of life are very important for health policy and public health strategy in deve