Gender and hypertension management: A sub-analysis of the I-inSYST survey

Figures & data

Table I. Demographic characteristics, cardiovascular risk factors, subclinical organ damage and established cardiovascular and renal disease by gender.

	Women	Men	p
n (%)	5691 (49)	5871 (51)
Demographic data (mean±SD)
Age (years)	64.9±12.4	61.3± 12	<0.0001
Weight (kg)	74.3± 14.4	84.3±14.1	<0.0001
BMI (kg/m^2)	27.7±5.2	27.8± 4.3	NS
SBP (mmHg)	151± 18	150± 17	<0.05
DBP (mmHg)	87± 11	88± 11	<0.002
PP (mmHg)	64±15	62±14	<0.0001
HR (beats/min)	74±9	73± 10	<0.003
Cardiovascular risk factors (%)
Smoker, current	16.1	33.8	<0.0001
Diabetes	18.9	17.3	<0.02
Abdominal obesity	36.4	36.1	NS
Hypercholesterolemia	37.8	41.1	<0.0001
Familial history premature CVD	27.5	29.5	<0.01
Subclinical organ damage (%)
Left ventricle hypertrophy	13.2	16.1	<0.0001
Carotid thickening	1.4	2.3	<0.0001
Slight increased serum creatinine	4.7	4.9	NS
Microalbuminuria	4.9	5.2	NS
Established cardiovascular and renal disease (%)
Cerebrovascular disease	8.1	6.8	<0.005
Coronary artery disease	11.9	18.3	<0.0001
Renal disease	5.1	4.3	<0.03
Peripheral artery disease	7.2	9.1	<0.0001
Advanced retinopathy	1.8	1.5	NS

n, number of observations; SD, standard deviation; BMI, body mass index; SBP, Systolic blood pressure; DBP, diastolic blood pressure; PP, pulse pressure; HR, heart rate; CVD, cardiovascular disease; NS, not significant.

Figure 1. Distribution of the number of cardiovascular risk factors by gender.

Figure 2. Distribution of blood pressure (a) in men; (b) in women. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) of the 11,562 treated hypertensive patients. Lines represent higher limit of the target BP range. Percentages in margin indicate the proportion of individuals falling above and below the limit. Percentages in the graph indicate the proportion of individuals in a given quadrant.

Table II. Factors related to blood pressure control according to gender.

	Women		Men
Parameter (present vs absent)	OR (95% CI)	p-value	OR (95% CI)	p-value
Age^a	1.001 (0.996–1.006)	–	1.008 (1.003–1.013)	<0.002
BMI (kg/m^2)^a	0.959 (0.947–0.971)	<0.0001	0.955 (0.941–0.969)	<0.0001
Smoking	0.940 (0.796–1.110)	–	0.750 (0.658–0.854)	<0.0001
Hypercholesterolemia	0.854 (0.752–0.968)	<0.02	0.841 (0.744–0.951)	<0.006
FH premature CVD	0.773 (0.671–0.889)	0.0003	0.956 (0.839–1.091)	–
Abdominal obesity	0.673 (0.590–0.767)	<0.0001	0.604 (0.529–0.689)	<0.0001
Diabetes Mellitus	0.910 (0.778–1.065)	–	0.978 (0.834–1.145)	–
Left ventricle hypertrophy	0.706 (0.585–0.857)	0.0004	0.888 (0.752–1.049)	–
Carotid thickening	0.987 (0.585–1.665)	–	1.020 (0.688–1.514)	–
Slight increased serum creatinine	0.884 (0.658–1.188)	–	0.851 (0.638–1.137)	–
Microalbuminuria	0.790 (0.585–1.067)	–	0.950 (0.723–1.248)	–
Cerebrovascular disease	1.014 (0.813–1.265)	–	1.329 (1.064–1.660)	<0.02
Cardiac disease	1.290 (1.080–1.540)	<0.005	1.577 (1.366–1.821)	<0.0001
Renal disease	0.928 (0.703–1.227)	–	1.043 (0.781–1.394)	–
Peripheral artery disease	0.633 (0.486–0.825)	0.0007	1.012 (0.823–1.244)	–
Retinopathy	1.293 (0.844–1.981)	–	1.211 (0.762–1.924)	–
Number of antiHTN drugs^a	1.108 (1.035–1.186)	<0.004	1.156 (1.081–1.236)	<0.0001
Duration of hypertension^a	1.004 (0.993–1.015)	–	1.029 (1.017–1.040)	<0.0001

^aContinuous variable; OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval; BMI, body mass index; FH, family history; CVD, cardiovascular disease; antiHTN, antihypertensive; –, not significant.

Figure 3. Antihypertensive drug classes in men and women. *p<0.0001, **p<0.003, ***p<0.02. BB, beta-blockers; Diur, diuretics; CCB, calcium-channel blockers; ACEI, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors; ARB, angiotensin II receptor antagonists.

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