The coming epidemic: hypertension in rural Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia.
Eastern Europe is experiencing an epidemic of cardiovascular disease far outpacing rates in Western Europe. This epidemic was heralded by a precipitous rise in hypertension prevalence. The former Soviet states of Central Asia may be facing a similar epidemic. In order to access this threat, we performed a retrospective analysis of data generated during humanitarian medical visits to two villages in Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia. The age-adjusted prevalence of hypertension was 39%. Hypertension was much more common among men than women (46 vs 33%, respectively). In addition, the rise in blood pressure with age was striking, surpassing the experience in Western countries. This epidemic of hypertension may herald a coming epidemic of cardiovascular disease in Central Asia.
Young
J H
JH
Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore MD 21205, USA. jhyoung@jhmi.edu
Parler
P
P
Bristol
B
B
Klag
M J
MJ
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001794:Blood Pressure; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology*; D007707:Kyrgyzstan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012424:Rural Population; D012737:Sex Factors