Archives of Hellenic Medicine

Last update:

09-Mar-2021

Arch Hellen Med, 38(2), March-April 2021, 215-223

ORIGINAL PAPER

Prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of hypertension in Greece:
National epidemiological study EMENO

G.S. Stergiou,¹ A. Menti,¹ N. Kalpourtzi,² M. Gavana,³ A. Vantarakis,⁴ G. Chlouverakis,⁵
C. Hadjichristodoulou,⁶ G. Trypsianis,⁷ P.V. Voulgari,⁸ Y. Alamanos,⁹ A. Karakosta,² G. Touloumi²
¹Hypertension Center STRIDE-7, Third Department of Medicine, "Sotiria" Regional Hospital of Chest Diseases, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, School of Medicine, Athens,
²Department of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens,
³Department of Primary Care, General Practice and Health Services Research, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki,
⁴Environmental Microbiology Unit, Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, Patras,
⁵Division of Biostatistics, School of Medicine, Heraklion,
⁶Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Medical Faculty, University of Thessaly, Larissa,
⁷Department of Medical Statistics, Medical Faculty, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupolis,
⁸Rheumatology Clinic, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Ioannina, Ioannina,
⁹Institute of Epidemiology, Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Corfu, Greece

OBJECTIVE Investigation of the prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of hypertension in Greece through the nationwide epidemiological study EMENO (2013–2016).

METHOD The multi-stage stratified random sampling method was applied to select a representative sample of the adult (≥18 years) general population involving 577 areas throughout Greece. Hypertension was defined as blood pressure (BP) ≥140/90 mmHg (average of 2nd–3rd measurement) and or use of antihypertensive drugs. Three BP measurements were obtained using validated electronic upper-arm device.

RESULTS A total of 6,006 individuals were recruited and 4,699 with complete data were analyzed with mean age 49.2±18.6 years, 48.6% men, and mean body mass index (BMI) 28.2±5.7 kg/m². The prevalence of hypertension was 39.6% (men/women 42.7/36.5%; p<0.001). Among hypertensive subjects, 31.8% were unaware, 2.7% were aware but untreated, 35.1% were treated but uncontrolled, and 30.5% treated and controlled.

CONCLUSIONS The ΕΜΕΝΟ epidemiologic study in a general population sample of adults in Greece showed that the prevalence of hypertension is rising and affects 40% of the adults. Among patients with hypertension, about 1/3 are undiagnosed and less than 1/3 are controlled with treatment. Nationwide programs for the prevention, detection and control of hypertension in Greece are needed, aimed at improving BP control and preventing a rise in the incidence of cardiovascular diseases the next decades.

Key words: Antihypertensive therapy, Cross-sectional, Epidemiology, High blood pressure, Prevalence.