# Short-term trends in hypertension and high cardiovascular risk at high altitude in Peru

## TL;DR

This study examines changes in hypertension and cardiovascular risk in high-altitude regions of Peru from 2017 to 2023.

## Contribution

It provides new insights into trends of hypertension and cardiovascular risk in high-altitude populations using national survey data.

## Key findings

- No statistically significant trends in hypertension prevalence or treatment were observed between 2017 and 2023.
- The proportion of individuals with high cardiovascular risk remained constant during the study period.
- Age-standardized prevalence rates showed increases but were not statistically significant.

## Abstract

The aim of the present study was to describe short-term trends in the prevalence of high cardiovascular risk and the prevalence, awareness, treatment, and controlled hypertension in the high altitude of Peru, during the years 2017 to 2023, using data from the Demographic and Family Health Survey.

A cross-sectional analysis was carried out using secondary data of six representative surveys nationwide (2017–2023, excluding the 2020 survey). For the analysis of hypertension and cardiovascular risk, we included 56,404 and 38,221 participants residing in high-altitude areas, respectively. The mean and age-standardized prevalence were calculated with their respective 95% confidence intervals and the trends of the estimated proportions were evaluated with Mann-Kendall test. A value p < 0.05 statistically significant was considered.

An increase in the age-standardized prevalence of hypertension, disease knowledge, treatment, and controlled hypertension was identified between 2017 and 2023; however, no statistically significant trends were observed in these prevalences. The proportion of participants with high cardiovascular risk remained constant during this period.

In participants residing in high-altitude cities in Peru, no statistically significant trends were found in the age-standardized prevalences of hypertension, disease knowledge, treatment, controlled hypertension, or cardiovascular risk between 2017 and 2023.