National Trends in Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Antihypertensive Medication Use and Blood Pressure Control Among Adults With Hypertension, 2011–2018

Abstract

Poor hypertension awareness and underuse of guideline-recommended medications are critical factors contributing to poor hypertension control. Using data from 8095 hypertensive people aged ≥18 years from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2011–2018), we examined recent trends in racial and ethnic differences in awareness and antihypertensive medication use, and their association with racial and ethnic differences in hypertension control. Between 2011 and 2018, age-adjusted hypertension awareness declined for Black, Hispanic, and White individuals, but the 3 outcomes increased or did not change for Asian individuals. Compared with White individuals, Black individuals had a similar awareness (odds ratio, 1.20 [0.96–1.45]) and overall treatment rates (1.04 [0.84–1.25]), and received more intensive antihypertensive medication if treated (1.41 [1.27–1.56]), but had a lower control rate (0.72 [0.61–0.83]). Asian and Hispanic individuals had significantly lower awareness rates (0.69 [0.52–0.85] and 0.74 [0.59–0.89]), overall treatment rates (0.72 [0.57–0.88] and 0.69 [0.55–0.82]), received less intensive medication if treated (0.60 [0.50–0.72] and 0.86 [0.75–0.96]), and had lower control rates (0.66 [0.54–0.79] and 0.69 [0.57–0.81]). The racial and ethnic differences in awareness, treatment, and control persisted over the study period and were consistent across age, sex, and income strata. Lower awareness and treatment were significantly associated with lower control in Asian and Hispanic individuals ( P <0.01 for all) but not in Black individuals. These findings highlight the need for interventions to improve awareness and treatment among Asian and Hispanic individuals, and more investigation into the downstream factors that may contribute to the poor hypertension control among Black individuals.