Association of socioeconomic position and unmet needs of medical use in patient with hypertension

Introduction The mismatch of individual needs of medical care and the medical use in patients with hypertension is important for it could decrease compliance and therapeutic effect of medication. The aim of this study is to evaluate the association between socioeconomic position and unmet needs of medical use in patients with hypertension. Method We used data collected in 2009 through Community Health Survey (CHS), which is a community-based surveillance system supported by Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention. In this study, rates of hypertension and unmet needs of medical use were analyzed. Information reflecting socioeconomic position, such as education and household income, were obtained, and potential confounders considered were age, sex, BMI, current marriage status and smoking status. Result A total of 230,715 were participated in CHS survey and 45,574 (19.8%) were diagnosed with hypertension by medical doctors. Among them, 7,041 (15.4%) experienced unmet needs of medical use and the most prevalent causes were cost (57.6%), accessibility (32.5%) and time (23.5%). Unmet needs of medical use were significantly decreased in high household income category (adjusted OR; 0.68, 95% CI; 0.62-0.75), and individuals with Bachelor's degree (AOR; 0.68, 95% CI: 0.61, 0.75) and high school graduates (AOR; 0.71, 95% CI: 0.66, 0.77) had significantly lower unmet needs of medical use than the individuals with low education level. Conclusion Low socioeconomic position is a risk factor of unmet needs of medical use in patients with hypertension.