Access to

East European countries have reported high prevalence of Arterial Hypertension (AHT). In order to investigate the data for Romania, we firstly performed a national survey-the Study for the Evaluation of Prevalence of Hypertension and Cardiovascular Risk in Adult Population in Romania (SEPHAR). A representative population was selected using stratified proportional sampling, including 2017 adult subjects, ≥18 years old. The general prevalence of AHT was 44,92%, higher in men (50,17%) than in women (41,11%) (P < .0001) and predominant in rural areas (49,47%) in comparison to the urban ones (41,58%) (P < .02). AHT awareness attended 44,26%, rising with age, significantly lower in men (34,58%) than in women (52,8%) (P < .0006). We have found a 38,85% proportion of treated hypertensive persons, worse for men (30,11%) then for women (46,56%) (P < .003). The rate of AHT control was 19,88%, with no significant differences between gender. In conclusion, we estimated for Romania a high prevalence of AHT, a level of awareness and treatment lower than in many European countries and a rate of treatment control at the inferior limit of the European average. Males, characterized by a higher prevalence of AHT, were also less aware and less treated than women

Prevalence, Awareness, Treatment, and Control of Hypertension in Romania: Results of the SEPHAR Study

East European countries have reported high prevalence of Arterial Hypertension (AHT). In order to investigate the data for Romania, we firstly performed a national survey—the Study for the Evaluation of Prevalence of Hypertension and Cardiovascular Risk in Adult Population in Romania (SEPHAR). A representative population was selected using stratified proportional sampling, including 2017 adult subjects, ≥18 years old. The general prevalence of AHT was 44,92%, higher in men (50,17%) than in women (41,11%) (P < .0001) and predominant in rural areas (49,47%) in comparison to the urban ones (41,58%) (P < .02). AHT awareness attended 44,26%, rising with age, significantly lower in men (34,58%) than in women (52,8%) (P < .0006). We have found a 38,85% proportion of treated hypertensive persons, worse for men (30,11%) then for women (46,56%) (P < .003). The rate of AHT control was 19,88%, with no significant differences between gender. In conclusion, we estimated for Romania a high prevalence of AHT, a level of awareness and treatment lower than in many European countries and a rate of treatment control at the inferior limit of the European average. Males, characterized by a higher prevalence of AHT, were also less aware and less treated than women

Clinical research Objectives and methodology of Romanian SEPHAR II Survey. Project for comparing the prevalence and control of cardiovascular risk factors in two East-European countries: Romania and Poland

A b s t r a c t Introduction: Comparing results of representative surveys conducted in different East-European countries could contribute to a better understanding and management of cardiovascular risk factors, offering grounds for the development of health policies addressing the special needs of this high cardiovascular risk region of Europe. The aim of this paper was to describe the methodology on which the comparison between the Romanian survey SEPHAR II and the Polish survey NATPOL 2011 results is based. Material and methods: SEPHAR II, like NATPOL 2011, is a cross-sectional survey conducted on a representative sample of the adult Romanian population (18 to 80 years) and encompasses two visits with the following components: completing the study questionnaire, blood pressure and anthropometric measurements, and collection of blood and urine samples. Results: From a total of 2223 subjects found at 2860 visited addresses, 2044 subjects gave written consent but only 1975 subjects had eligible data for the analysis, accounting for a response rate of 69.06%. Additionally we excluded 11 subjects who were 80 years of age (NATPOL 2011 included adult subjects up to 79 years). Therefore, the sample size included in the statistical analysis is 1964. It has similar age groups and gender structure as the Romanian population aged 18-79 years from the last census available at the moment of conducting the survey (weight adjustments for epidemiological analyses range from 0.48 to 8.7). Conclusions: Sharing many similarities, the results of SEPHAR II and NATPOL 2011 surveys can be compared by a proper statistical method offering crucial information regarding cardiovascular risk factors in a high-cardiovascular risk European region