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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Ami Shah, MPH, Steven Whitman, PhD, Jocelyn Hirschman, MPH, and Teena Francois, MPH. Sinai Urban Health Institute, 1500 S. California Avenue, Mount Sinai Hospital, K439, Chicago, IL 60608, 773-257-6569, shaam@sinai.org

Hypertension is one of the leading causes of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in the United States. Its prevalence has increased in the past decade not only because of the aging population but also because of the lack of exercise and poor eating habits behind the growing obesity epidemic. Nationally, the condition disproportionately affects non-Hispanic Blacks (35%) compared to non-Hispanic Whites (23%) and Hispanics (24%). Other risk factors associated with HBP include diabetes, smoking, and social stressors such as racism and poverty. Despite the gravity of the condition, little is known about its prevalence at the local level where targeted interventions would be most effective.

To gather such local level information to shape interventions, a comprehensive health survey was implemented in six racially/ethnically diverse community areas in Chicago. Self-reported data were gathered about 1,699 adults (age 18-75 years) from randomly selected households from each community area. Respondents were asked if they were ever diagnosed with high blood pressure as well as other associated health outcomes and risk behaviors.

The age-adjusted prevalence of adults diagnosed with HBP in two non-Hispanic Black communities, North Lawndale and Roseland, were 41% and 39%, respectively. These rates are twice as high in Norwood Park (26%), a predominately non-Hispanic White community, and South Lawndale (17%), a predominately Mexican American community. While similar racial and ethnic disparities have been documented at the national level, these data draw attention to important disparities at the local level and offer opportunities to reduce them.

Further analysis suggest that the prevalence of HBP among younger adults (18-44 years) in the two NH-Black communities was about 22% compared to only 13% in Norwood Park and 15% in South Lawndale. Young adults in the two NH-Black communities appear to have a far greater risk of developing hypertension and suffering from its long-term consequences. Data also indicate that less than half of adults in some communities are not managing their blood pressure with medications, suggesting that many are living with uncontrolled HBP.

Survey data indicate to what extent and in what way HBP burdens these six communities and offers insight on how to intervene. In the context of race, poverty and growing health disparities in Chicago and the United States, these local area data are imperative to effectively alleviate the burden of hypertension and ensure the right to health for all.

Learning Objectives:

• Ø Recognize the need for community level data to determine underlying causes of risk factors associated with hypertension;
• Ø Present variations in the prevalence of high blood pressure in six racially/ethnically diverse Chicago communities, compared to Chicago and national averages;
• Ø Understand the importance of the social and environmental context of health in developing effective interventions and improved policies to address hypertension, especially in urban minority communities.

Keywords: Health Disparities, Hypertension

Related Web page: www.sinai.org/urban/originalresearch/rwj/index.asp

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered