Our study assessed recent blood pressure (BP) trends according to economic status based on data from 2005 to 2015. In total, 56 873 participants were included and were defined as low, middle-low, middle-high, and high according to their house income quartile. In men, the mean systolic BP ( P < .001, β = -1.95; P = .01, β = -0.61; P = .35, β = -0.19; and P = .04, β = -0.47, from the low to the high group, respectively) and diastolic BP were decreased significantly in all groups ( P < .001, β = -2.18; P < .001, β = -0.77; P = .02, β = -0.40; and P < .001, β = -0.69, from the low to the high group, respectively). In women, the decreasing trends in systolic BP and diastolic BP were statistically significant except in the high-income group. In addition, the percentages of less-than-normotensive and less-than-hypertensive BP in both sexes and the control rate of hypertension on antihypertensive medications increased in all groups. Decreasing BP trends were observed in the recent decade and the gap in health inequities has been decreased, particularly in men in Korea.
Keywords: blood pressure; disparity; economic status; hypertension; inequity.