Prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control rates of hypertension in the general population of Australia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Xia Wang; J E Shaw; J Yu; G Jennings; B Stavreski; D Magliano; T K Gill; R Adams; A Rodgers; M Woodward; M P Schlaich; R Singleton; B Zhou; A E Schutte

doi:10.1097/HJH.0000000000003854

Prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control rates of hypertension in the general population of Australia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

J Hypertens. 2024 Aug 27. doi: 10.1097/HJH.0000000000003854. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Xia Wang¹, J E Shaw², J Yu¹, G Jennings^{2

3}, B Stavreski³, D Magliano², T K Gill⁴, R Adams⁵, A Rodgers¹, M Woodward^{1

6}, M P Schlaich⁷, R Singleton^{8

9

10

11}, B Zhou^{8

9

10}, A E Schutte^{1

11}

Affiliations

¹ The George Institute for Global Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, NSW.
² Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne.
³ Faculty of Medicine & Health, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW.
⁴ Adelaide Medical School, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide.
⁵ Adelaide Institute for Sleep Health, Flinders University, Bedford Park, SA, Australia.
⁶ George Institute for Global Health, Imperial College London, London, UK.
⁷ Dobney Hypertension Centre, Medical School - Royal Perth Hopsital Unit, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.
⁸ Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health.
⁹ MRC Centre for Environment and Health, School of Public Health.
¹⁰ The Abdul Latif Jameel Institute for Disease and Emergency Analytics, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK.
¹¹ School of Population Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.

PMID: 39248145
DOI: 10.1097/HJH.0000000000003854

Abstract

Background: A recent call-to-action highlighted that Australia is lagging behind high-income countries regarding hypertension control rates.

Methods: We performed a systematic literature search of reports on prevalence, awareness, treatment and control rates since 2010. We also undertook an individual participant data meta-analysis of six population-based studies in the general population from 1980 to 2018 to understand the size of the problem and trajectories over time.

Results: The aggregated data showed that after 2010, hypertension prevalence was 31% ]95% confidence interval (CI) 27-34%], and awareness, treatment, and control rates among people with hypertension were 56% (41-71%), 54% (46-62%) and 34% (22-47%), respectively. Since 1980, these figures have shown slight improvement. However, we noted a low availability of quality nationwide randomized databases for Australia.

Conclusions: We require critical action to improve the prevention, detection and treatment of hypertension, and highlight the need for large-scale investment in tracking population health in order to produce vital health statistics for the nation.