Trends in the Prevalence of Multiple Chronic Conditions Among US Adults With Hypertension From 1999–2000 Through 2017–2020

Abstract

Abstract BACKGROUND The prevalence of many chronic conditions has increased among US adults. Many adults with hypertension have other chronic conditions. METHODS We estimated changes in the age-adjusted prevalence of multiple (≥3) chronic conditions, not including hypertension, using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, from 1999–2000 to 2017–2020, among US adults with (n = 24,851) and without (n = 24,337 hypertension. Hypertension included systolic blood pressure (BP) ≥130 mm Hg, diastolic BP ≥80 mm Hg, or antihypertensive medication use. We studied 14 chronic conditions: arthritis, asthma, cancer, coronary heart disease, chronic kidney disease, depression, diabetes, dyslipidemia, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, heart failure, lung disease, obesity, and stroke. RESULTS From 1999–2000 to 2017–2020, the age-adjusted mean number of chronic conditions increased more among US adults with vs. without hypertension (2.2 to 2.8 vs. 1.7 to 2.0; P-interaction <0.001). Also, the age-adjusted prevalence of multiple chronic conditions increased from 39.0% to 52.0% among US adults with hypertension and from 26.0% to 30.0% among US adults without hypertension (P-interaction = 0.022). In 2017–2020, after age, gender, and race/ethnicity adjustment, US adults with hypertension were 1.94 (95% confidence interval: 1.72–2.18) times as likely to have multiple chronic conditions compared to those without hypertension. In 2017–2020, dyslipidemia, obesity, and arthritis were the most common 3 co-occurring chronic conditions among US adults with and without hypertension (age-adjusted prevalence 16.5% and 3.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS In 2017–2020, more than half of US adults with hypertension had ≥3 additional chronic conditions, a substantial increase from 20 years ago.