Abstract Body: Introduction: High blood pressure (BP) in young adults is associated with greater risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in later life. Hypertension may remain undiagnosed in young adults and could remain uncontrolled for several reasons including lower engagement with healthcare and lack of awareness of high BP. Moreover, absolute CVD risk algorithms which incorporate BP are commonly designed for middle age-to-older adults, meaning opportunities may be missed for risk factor modification to reduce BP among younger adults, through lifestyle or pharmacological approaches.
Hypothesis: The modern sedentary lifestyle is associated with reduced physical activity, greater body weight and poorer diets, potentially increasing the prevalence of hypertension in young adults. We therefore aim to understand awareness, treatment and control rates in Australian adults aged 18 to 39 years.
Methods: A cross-sectional analysis of Australian National Health Survey 2017-18 among adults aged 18 to 39 years. Descriptive analyses to determine hypertension awareness, treatment and control was performed and stratified by sex and history of cardiometabolic risk factors (type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol). BP was categorised according to the Australian guidelines (Table 1). Hypertension was defined as people who had measured high BP (≥140/90 mmHg), or normal measured BP and were taking antihypertensive medications.
Results: The analysis included 7.5 million adults aged 18 to 39 years (48.9% women) (Table 1). Among those with hypertension (802,000, 10.7%), only 15.1% were aware of their high BP, 7.3% were treated and only 4.8% were controlled. Among 12,200 young adults with type 2 diabetes and hypertension, awareness (7,130, 58.7%), treatment (7,130, 58.7%) and control (5,380, 44.3%) were higher than in the general population. This was similar in the 50,000 young adults with high cholesterol and hypertension (awareness: 41,800, 83.5%; treatment: 27,200, 54.4%; control: 17,400, 34.7%).
Conclusion: Young Australian adults with hypertension were found to have low awareness, control and treatment rates. Among young adults with co-existing cardiometabolic risk factors there was greater awareness, treatment and control of high BP, although control rates were still <50%. Targeted approaches to addressing hypertension management and improving control rates are required to ensure young adults with hypertension are supported to reduce their BP and improve their overall CVD risk profile.