Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of white-coat hypertension (WCH) and masked hypertension (MH) in the general population, by means of home blood pressure measurement (HBPM). DESIGN: Cross-sectional, descriptive study. SETTING: Four primary care centres. PARTICIPANTS: A sample of 1400 individuals over 18 years old, selected from the Municipal Register of Inhabitants (Huelva, Spain) and randomised and stratified by age and gender. MAIN MEASUREMENTS: Two blood pressure (BP) measurements in clinic (CBP) and 12 measurements in a week of BP by HBPM were performed (OMRON 705-CP). Pressure was seen as normal when CBP means were <140/90 mm Hg and HBPM was <135/85 mm Hg. WCH was defined as when CBP was >140/90 mm Hg and HBPM <135/85 mm Hg, and hypertension when CBP was >140 mm Hg and HBPM >135/85 mm Hg or patients were in treatment for hypertension. MH was when CBP was <140/90 mm Hg and at home was >135 mm Hg and/or 85 mm Hg. RESULTS: A total of 1153 individuals (82.35% of the sample) with mean age of 45.4 (SD, 16.1) were included: 560 men and 593 women. The prevalence of MH was 8.9% (CI+/-1.6) in the general population and 9.8% (CI+/-3.2) in individuals with hypertension. WCH prevalence was 3.6% (CI+/-1.05) overall and 12.8% (CI+/-3.6) in hypertense patients, with its prevalence increasing steadily as age groups rose (P = .001). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of WCH in the general population is low, whereas the prevalence of MH is high.