المملكة: A quarter of adults in Saudi Arabia suffer from high blood pressure

The Kingdom’s global health survey data, which was conducted by the Ministry of Health, revealed that the prevalence of age -based hypertension among people who are 18 years old and more has reached 24.5%.
The results of the study related to treatment coverage showed that the percentage of blood pressure treatment coverage among adults between the ages of 30 and 79 years was about 48%.
The study, which relied on the United Nations methodology, showed that the total percentage of patients taking high blood pressure medications has witnessed an improvement compared to the previous estimates of the World Health Organization, which indicated normative coverage by age by 41.2% and raw coverage of 35.4%.

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The results revealed clear variations in the rates of gender therapy, as statistics showed that the percentage of women who receive a treatment for high blood pressure is much higher, as it reached 57%, compared to 41% among men in the same age group.
It was also noticed a clear graduation in the rate of access to treatment with age, while the percentage did not exceed 18% for those between the ages of 30 and 39 years, it increased steadily to 40% in the age group 40-49 years, 58% between 50 and 59 years, and 66% for those between 60 and 69 years, to reach its peak at 81% in the age group of 70-79 years.
On the level of geographical areas, the study recorded a remarkable disparity in the treatment coverage rates between the different governorates. Al -Baha region recorded the highest treatment coverage rate of 87%, followed by the Najran region by 77%, then the Riyadh region with 63%and Makkah Al -Mukarramah by 59%.

On the other hand, Al -Madinah Al -Munawwarah region recorded the lowest coverage rate by 15%, followed by the Qassim region by 21%, Al -Jawf with 34%, Asir by 37%, Hail 33%, the northern borders 43%, Tabuk and the eastern 50%, and Jazan 51%.
The results also showed a correlation between the level of income and the percentage of treatment, as the percentage was lower in the slide with a minimum income «35%» compared to the slide with a higher income «56%».
In a related context, the study showed that the vast majority of adults in the Kingdom does not suffer from high blood pressure, as the prevalence of uninterrupted blood pressure (defined by systolic pressure is less than 140 mm mercury and diastolic less than 90 mm Hg “about 87% among individuals of 18 years and over.
The data showed that the prevalence of uninterrupted blood pressure is slightly higher among women «89%) compared to men« 86%), and it also decreases naturally with age.