Prevalence of hypertension and diabetes in elderly people in Xiamen city

Objective To evaluate the prevalence of hypertension and diabetes in residents aged 65 years and older in Xiamen municipality, Fujian province.

Methods We extracted and analyzed medical records on 170 206 residents 65 years old and above who had physical examination free of charge at community health care centers of Xiamen municipality from January 1st through December, 2017.

Results For all the elderly examinees, the detection rate of hypertension was 34.00% and the detection rate was significantly higher among the female examinees than among the male examinees (χ² = 367.207, P < 0.05); the detection rate of hyperglycemia was 15.09%, without significant gender difference in the rate. For the examinees reporting no history of hypertension or hyperglycemia, the detection rate of hypertension and hyperglycemia were 23.29% and 6.02% respectively. Among the examinees previously diagnosed with hypertension and diabetes, the blood pressure control rate was 57.47% and the blood glucose control rate was 52.99%. The overall prevalence rate of hypertension was 65.99% and that of diabetes was 25.33% for all the examinees and the female examinees had higher prevalence rates of hypertension and diabetes than the male examinees.

Conclusion Among the community residents aged 65 years and above in Xiamen municipality, the prevalence rate of hypertension is higher in the females than in the males and many of the residents with undiagnosed hypertension or diabetes are not aware of their abnormal blood pressure or blood glucose level . The residents with diagnosed hypertension or diabetes have lower blood pressure and blood glucose control rate.