Hypertension is a major public health problem. However,
no estimates of age- and sex-specific incidences are available
for the Spanish population. Our objective was to estimate
the incidence of hypertension in a cohort of university
graduates in Spain. We followed up 5648 individuals aged
25-65 years who were initially free of hypertension, diabetes,
and cardiovascular disease for a median of 30 months. New
diagnoses of hypertension were identified using mailed
questionnaires. We validated the self-reported diagnosis of
hypertension. In 18 250 person-years of follow-up, we
identified 248 new cases of hypertension. The unadjusted
incidences of hypertension in women and men were 8.2 per
1000 person-years (95% CI, 6.7-10.1) and 21.8 per 1000
person-years (95% CI, 18.6-25.4), respectively. The
cumulative probability of receiving a medical diagnosis of
hypertension by the age of 65 years was 50% among women
and 72% among men. In conclusion, we have provided new
evidence confirming that hypertension is one of the most
important public health problems in Spain
