Blood pressure and hypertension in an elderly population.

In order to study the epidemiology of hypertension in the elderly and its relationship to other disease situations, a study was performed on 815 institutionalized elderly people indicating a statistically significant decrease of both systolic and diastolic blood pressure with age. There is a difference between the population originating in Europe and America and those from Asia and Africa; in the latter group the blood pressure values were significantly higher, specially in females. The prevalence of hypertension as a disease does not differ between younger and older age groups. The lower prevalence in the population studied (28.1%) when compared to data in the literature which indicates prevalence of about 40%, might be due to the fact that the institution population live under sheltered conditions and close medical follow up. In conclusion hypertension in the elderly serves as a major risk factor for several disease situations thus leading to a better survival for those with lower values of blood pressure.