Association of Household Wealth Index, Educational Status, and Social Capital with Hypertension Awareness, Treatment, and Control in South Asia

OBJECTIVE: Hypertension control rates are low in South Asia. To determine association of measures of socioeconomic status (wealth, education, and social capital) with hypertension awareness, treatment, and control among urban and rural subjects in these countries we performed the present study. METHODS: We enrolled 33,423 subjects aged 35-70 years (women 56%, rural 53%, low-education status 51%, low household wealth 25%, low-social capital 33%) in 150 communities in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh during 2003-2009. Prevalence of hypertension and its awareness, treatment, and control status and their association with wealth, education, and social capital were determined. RESULTS: Age-, sex-, and location-adjusted prevalence of hypertension in men was 31.5% (23.9-40.2%) and women was 32.6% (24.9-41.5%) with variations in prevalence across study sites (urban…