Abstract
Compared to Austria, cerebrovascular stroke (CVS) mortality is three times higher in Hungary, and twice as high in Slovakia. We hypothesized that this is due to better treatment and control of hypertension in Austria. To test this hypothesis, we carried out a cross-sectional survey of ‘blue collar’ employees on work sites in each of these countries. Blood pressure screening was carried out at three work sites in Austria, one in Hungary and one in Slovakia. A standardized protocol was followed in each of these countries. The Bp-TRUTM measuring instrument was used to provide accurate reproducible readings and eliminate interobserver error. After the exclusion of missing data and women, the study population included 323 males screened in Austria, 600 in Hungary, and 751 in Slovakia. The mean ages of the respondents ranged from 35 to 42 years. The prevalence of hypertension was 29% in Austria, 28% in Hungary and 40% in Slovakia. Of those identified as hypertensive, 73% in Austria, 45% in Hungary and 67% in Slovakia were newly diagnosed as a result of this screening. Of those treated for hypertension, 10% in Austria, 15% in Hungary and 5% in Slovakia were controlled. The differences in CVS mortality cannot be explained by better control of hypertension in Austria but indicate the involvement of other determinants.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 digital issues and online access to articles
$119.00 per year
only $9.92 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
McKee M, Shkolnikov V . Understanding the toll of premature deaths among men in Eastern Europe. Br Med J 2001; 323: 1051–1055.
Statistics Canada. Canadian statistics information. Accessed May 2002. Available from: URL: http://www.acdi.cida.gc.ca.
World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe. European health for all database. Accessed January 2002. Available from: URL: http://www.who.dk/hfadb.
Kannel WB . Blood pressure as a cardiovascular risk factor. JAMA 1996; 275: 1571.
MacMahon S et al. Blood pressure, stroke, coronary heart disease. Part 1, Prolonged differences in blood pressure: prospective observational studies corrected for the regression dilution bias. Lancet 1990; 335: 765.
Dahlöf B, Devereux RB, Kjeldsen SE . Cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in the losartan intervention for endpoint reduction in hypertension study (LIFE): a randomized trial against atenolol. Lancet 2002; 359: 995–1003.
Wright JM, Mattu GS . Validation of a new algorithm for the BPM-100 electronic blood pressure monitor. Blood Pressure Monit 2001; 6: 161–165.
Ginter E . Cardiovascular risk factors in the former communist countries: Analysis of 40 European MONICA populations. Eur J Epidemiol 1995; 11: 199–205.
Blood Pressure Lowering Treatment Trialists' Collaboration. Effects of ACE inhibitors, calcium antagonists, and other blood-pressure-lowering drugs: results of prospectively designed overviews of randomized trials. Lancet 2000; 355: 1955–1964.
Joffres M et al. Awareness, treatment and control of hypertension in Canada. Am J Hypertens 1997; 10: 1097–1102.
Kesteloot H . Regional differences in mortality: a comparison between Austria, Hungary and Switzerland. Acta Cardiol 1999; 54: 299–309.
Mark L, Kondacs A, Hanyecz V . Cardiovascular risk factor profile: Comparison of a Hungarian community with Germany. Wien Klin Wochenschr 1997; 109: 683–687.
Assmann G, Schulte H . The Prospective Cardiovascular Münster (PROCAM) study: prevalence of hyperlipidemia in persons with hypertension and/or diabetes mellitus and the relationship to coronary heart disease. Am Heart J 1988; 116: 1713–1724.
Acknowledgements
We gratefully acknowledge the significant support we have received from Dr A Dukat, Bratislava, Slovakia; Dr T Dorner, Wien, Austria; Dr G Lencse, Szeged, Hungary and Dr M Caprnda, Bratislava, Slovakia. This project was supported by CIDA Canada, the Austrian Red Cross Society, and the City of Wien Healthy Heart Program. The Bp-TRUâ„¢ instruments to all participating sites were donated by Dr Mark Gelfer, Medical Director VSM Corporation, Vancouver, Canada.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Appendix A
Appendix A
CLINICAL CHART
Austria–Hungary–Slovakia International Blood Pressure Study See Table A1
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Fodor, J., Lietava, J., Rieder, A. et al. Work-site hypertension prevalence and control in three Central European Countries. J Hum Hypertens 18, 581–585 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jhh.1001685
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jhh.1001685
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
High Prevalence of Prehypertension and Hypertension in a Working Population in Hungary
American Journal of Hypertension (2012)
-
East-West gradient in cardio-vascular mortality in Austria: how much can we explain by following the pattern of risk factors?
International Journal of Health Geographics (2011)
-
Inter-regional comparisons of the prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors in patients with hypertension in Europe: the GOOD survey
Journal of Human Hypertension (2009)
-
"A heart for Vienna" – The prevention program for the big city. Blue-collar workers as a special target group
Wiener Medizinische Wochenschrift (2006)
-
Hypertension screening in a salami factory: a worksite hypertension study
Journal of Human Hypertension (2004)