VANCOUVER, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- With similar use of medication, it is more likely to put high blood pressure under control among old men than women in Canada, a study has found.
The study, released Wednesday by Statistics Canada, examined the difference in hypertension control between men and women aged between 60 and 79, by using data from the Canadian Health Measures Survey (CHMS) collected from March 2007 through February 2009 at 15 sites across the country.
It found that the prevalence of hypertension was nearly equal among older men (60 percent) and women (59 percent), and the percentage of those with hypertension who were taking pills was not statistically different (84 percent and 89 percent, respectively).
However, despite current treatment, hypertension was uncontrolled in a substantially higher percentage of women (30 percent) than men (17 percent), the study said.
The study did not provide specific reasons behind the gap, but said the difference persisted when age, socio-economic status, co-morbidity, category of medication, anthropometry, and other correlates of hypertension were taken into account.
The CHMS will continue to explore factors underlying the differences in hypertension control between older men and women, it said.
Hypertension is a major risk factor for heart and vascular disease and is a major cause of death around the world. Its control is more successful in older men than in older women in a number of countries besides Canada, according to the study.
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