HTN visits vary for adults living in urban, rural residences

(HealthDay)—The percentage of physician visits by adults with diagnosed hypertension varies by patient residence, according to a study published online Nov. 12 in the National Health Statistics Reports, a publication from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Danielle Davis, M.P.H., and Pinyao Rui, M.P.H., from the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland, used data from the 2014 to 2016 National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey to describe urban-rural differences in office-based physician visits by adults with documented hypertension.

The researchers found that the percentage of visits by adults aged 18 years and older with diagnosed hypertension was lower for those who lived in large metro suburban areas versus small-medium metro areas and rural areas (34.2 percent versus 37.9 and 40.1 percent, respectively). The percentage of visits was higher for men versus women with hypertension overall (41.0 versus 33.5 percent) and in large metro suburban areas (38.7 versus 31.0 percent), small-medium metro areas (43.5 versus 33.8 percent), and rural areas (44.9 versus 36.5 percent). With age, there was an increase in the percentage of visits by adults with hypertension, from 10.3 to 58.6 percent for adults aged 18 to 44 years and those aged 75 years and older, respectively; this pattern was seen in all residence areas.

"During 2014 to 2016, in all areas, approximately 36 percent of visits by adults included diagnosed hypertension documented in the medical record," the authors write.

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