Better accessibility of primary care is associated with improved awareness and control of hypertension, according to a study published in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. Jiajun Luo, PhD, and colleagues examined data from 5,096 participants (84% non-Hispanic Blacks). Prevalence of measured hypertension was 78.7% in this population, of which 37.7% were uncontrolled and 41.0% were unaware. A link was observed for a higher accessibility score with lower measured hypertension prevalence. Compared with the lowest quartile of accessibility score, the OR strengthened from 0.82 (95% CI, 0.67-1.01) to 0.75 (95% CI, 0.62-0.91) and then to 0.73 (95% CI, 0.60- 0.89) for the second, third, and fourth (highest) quartiles, respectively, in fully adjusted models (P<0.01). For uncontrolled and unaware hypertensions, the associations were similar. A higher accessibility score was linked with lower rates of unaware hypertension in disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged neighborhoods when stratified by neighborhood socioeconomic status.
