• Robin P Hertz, Alan N Unger, Jeffrey A Cornell, and Elijah Saunders.
• US Outcomes Research-Population Studies, Pfizer Global Pharmaceuticals, New York, NY 10017, USA. robin.hertz@pfizer.com
• Arch Intern Med. 2005 Oct 10; 165 (18): 209821042098-104.

BackgroundEffectively reducing cardiovascular disease disparities requires identifying and reducing disparities in risk factors. Improved understanding of hypertension disparities is critical.MethodsCross-sectional analysis of nationally representative samples of black and white adults 20 years and older who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2002 (white, n = 4624; black, n = 1837) and NHANES III conducted in 1988-1994 (white, n = 7121; black, n = 4709). We examined differences in hypertension prevalence, awareness, treatment, and blood pressure (BP) control among both treated and prevalent cases across the 2 periods.ResultsHypertension prevalence increased significantly from 35.8% to 41.4% among blacks and from 24.3% to 28.1% among whites and remains significantly higher among blacks. Awareness is higher among blacks (77.7% vs 70.4%; P<.001), as is treatment (68.2% vs 60.4%; P<.001). These results are driven by higher rates in black women. Blood pressure control rates among those treated have increased in both races, primarily as a result of increased BP control in black and white men (27.3% and 44.7%, respectively; PConclusionThe higher prevalence of hypertension in blacks and the growing disparity in BP control among those treated pharmacologically are causes for concern.

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