Prevalence, awareness & treatment status of hypertension in urban population of Delhi.

A community based survey for the prevalence of hypertension was carried out on a random urban sample of 13,723 adults in the age group 25-64 yr from the Union Territory of Delhi (India). Hypertension was defined as systolic pressure greater than 160 mm Hg and/or a diastolic pressure greater than 90 mm Hg or a history of current antihypertensive medication. The overall prevalence rate/1000 adults was 127.5 (116.6 in males and 136.8 in females). Mild hypertension (diastolic pressure between 91-104 mm Hg) predominated in the whole group, the proportion decreasing with increasing age in both sexes. Fifty per cent of the hypertensives were aware of their problem, the awareness being slightly higher in females (51.8% versus 46.5%). Approximately 30 per cent of the hypertensives were on medication for high blood pressure. The status control of blood pressure was low in the population, being only 9 per cent, with little difference between the two sexes. The study emphasises the enormity of the problem of hypertension in an urban population in India and poor control of blood pressure achieved in the community.