"One in Three Adults Has Hypertension" ... 1.94 Times Increase Over 14 Years

Last Year, Total of 13.74 Million Patients... Male Prevalence Increase Three Times That of Females

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] About 30% of adults aged 20 and over were diagnosed with hypertension last year.

On the eve of "World Hypertension Day (May 17)," on the 16th, according to data released by the National Health Insurance Service and the Korean Society of Hypertension, the number of hypertension patients in South Korea increased from 7.08 million in 2007 to 13.74 million in 2021, nearly doubling (1.94 times) over 14 years.

Based on the population aged 20 and over of 44.33 million last year, this means that 30.9% were hypertension patients.

The age-standardized prevalence rate, adjusted for natural increase due to societal aging, was 27.7%. The age-standardized prevalence rate for men increased by 7.4 percentage points from 21.2% in 2007 to 28.6% in 2021, which is more than three times higher than the 2.3 percentage point increase in women during the same period (24.4% → 26.7%).

Among hypertension patients in 2021, 80.6% (11,071,707 people) received medical treatment and were prescribed medication under a hypertension diagnosis, while 4.6% (34,637 people) had medical records for hypertension but were not prescribed medication.

Last year, 381,464 people developed major complications of hypertension such as coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, heart failure, and chronic kidney disease, with a major complication incidence rate of 2.79%. The incidence rates of coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, and heart failure were higher in rural areas, whereas the incidence rate of chronic kidney disease was higher in metropolitan areas.

Professor Kim Kwang-il of Seoul National University College of Medicine said, "In South Korea, the number of hypertension patients is rapidly increasing due to lifestyle changes and rapid population aging," adding, "Attention and preventive measures are needed regarding the increase in hypertension among younger people and concerns about chronic diseases caused by lack of exercise and increased obesity during the COVID-19 pandemic."

The Korean Society of Hypertension stated that to prevent hypertension and its related complications, people should eat less salty food, exercise for more than 30 minutes daily, avoid stress, and maintain a calm mind.