AUTHOR=Palomo-Piñón Silvia , Antonio-Villa Neftali Eduardo , Rangel-Zertuche Ricardo Alfonso , Berumen-Lechuga María Guadalupe , Medina-Serrano Julio Manuel , García-Cortés Luis Rey , Mejia-Rodríguez Oliva , León-Vázquez María de la Luz , González-Dzib Roxana del Socorro , González-Coronado Vidal José , Álvarez-Aguilar Cleto , Paniagua-Sierra José Ramón , Alcocer Luis ,  the Collaborative Group on Arterial Hypertension from the Mexican Institute of Social Security 

TITLE=Clinical and treatment profiles of arterial hypertension in Mexico during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey endorsed by the “Collaborative Group on Arterial Hypertension”

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2024

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1385349

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2024.1385349

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=BACKGROUND: Arterial hypertension is highly prevalent in Mexico; nevertheless, there are limited insights regarding its management during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, we estimate the prevalence of clinical and treatment profiles of arterial hypertension and explore associated factors for undiagnosed and uncontrolled hypertension using a cross-sectional survey endorsed by the Collaborative Group on Arterial Hypertension from the Mexican Institute of Social Security.: Our survey was conducted from May to November 2021 using the May-Measurement Month 2021 protocols of the International Society of Hypertension. Arterial hypertension (defined as: blood pressure [BP] ≥140/90 mmHg, previous diagnosis, or taking antihypertensives) and its clinical and treatment profiles were classified according to the World Hypertension League Expert Committee. Mixed-effects logistic regression models were used to explore associated factors for undiagnosed and uncontrolled hypertension.RESULTS: Among 77,145 screened participants (women: 62.4%; median age: 46 [IQR: 32-59] years), the prevalence of arterial hypertension was 35.7% (95% CI: 35.3-36.0, n=27,540). Among participants with arterial hypertension, 30.9% (95% CI: 30.4-31.5, n=8,533) were undiagnosed, 6.6% (95% CI: 6.3%-6.9%, n=1,806) were diagnosed but untreated, 43.4% (95% CI: 42.9-44.0, n=11,965) had uncontrolled hypertension, and only 19% (95% CI: 18.6%-19.5%, n=5,236) achieved hypertension control (BP <130/80 mmHg). Explored associated factors for undiagnosed and uncontrolled hypertension include being men, living in the central and southern regions, lower educational attainments, higher use of pharmacological agents, and previous COVID-19 infection.Our findings suggest that adverse arterial hypertension profiles, mainly undiagnosed and uncontrolled hypertension, were highly prevalent during the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico.