Introduction:

Systemic hypertension is the main modifiable cardiovascular risk factor, leading to increased probability of mortality due to cardiovascular causes. Studies assessing the prevalence of systemic hypertension in Colombia have included main cities and small regions. However, there is no available data regarding the country as a whole.

Objective:

To describe the prevalence of systemic hypertension according to reports made to the official information systems in Colombia.

Method:

The prevalence of systemic hypertension was calculated through the extraction and analysis of data contained within the SISPRO tool, the official information system for the Colombian Ministry of Health and Social Protection. The prevalence was then standardized by age, and for the different geographical regions of the country in the period comprised between years 2013 and 2017.

Results:

During the five years of follow-up, we located 12,386,343 registries reporting systemic hypertension as a main diagnosis. The lowest prevalence (4.65%) was found in year 2013, and the highest prevalence (5.83%) was found in 2017. The mean national prevalence for patients above the age of 60, during the aforementioned 5-year period, was 28.14%. The prevalence was higher in women, with a women-to-men ratio of 1.78:1. The group with the higher adjusted prevalence during the study period was composed of women above the age of 80 in year 2017, with an adjusted prevalence of 54.4%. The regions with a prevalence over 10% were Risaralda, Caldas, Boyacá. Antioquia and Sucre.

Conclusions:

The national prevalence of registered consultations due to systemic hypertension to the official information sources is lower than that reported in previous studies conducted on similar populations, suggesting the existence of underreport to said information sources.

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