Abstract
Background
The US and England have very different health systems. Comparing hypertension care outcomes in each country enables an evaluation of the effectiveness of each system.
Method
The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing and the Health and Retirement Survey are used to compare the prevalence of controlled, uncontrolled and undiagnosed hypertension in the population aged over 50 in the US and in England.
Results
Controlled hypertension is more prevalent in the US (age 50 to 64: 0.53 (0.50-0.57) and age 65+: 0.51 (0.49-0.53)) than in England (age 50 to 64: 0.45 (0.42-0.48) and age 65+: 0.42 (0.40-0.45)). This difference is driven by lower undiagnosed hypertension in the US (age 50 to 64: 0.18 (0.15-0.21) and age 65+: 0.13 (0.12-0.14)) relative to England (age 50 to 64: 0.26 (0.24-0.29) and age 65+: 0.22 (0.20-0.24)). The prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension is very similar in the US (age 50 to 64: 0.29 (0.26-0.32) and age 65+: 0.36 (0.34-0.38)) and England (age 50 to 64: 0.29 (0.26-0.32) and age 65+: 0.36 (0.34-0.39)). Hypertension care outcomes are comparable across US insurance categories. In both countries undiagnosed hypertension is positively correlated with wealth (ages 50-64). Uncontrolled hypertension declines with rising wealth in the US.
Conclusions
Different diagnostic practices are likely to drive the cross-country differences in undiagnosed hypertension. US government health systems perform at least as well as private health care and are more equitable in the distribution of care outcomes. Higher undiagnosed hypertension among the affluent may reflect less frequent medical contact.
The US and England have very different health systems. Comparing hypertension care outcomes in each country enables an evaluation of the effectiveness of each system.
Method
The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing and the Health and Retirement Survey are used to compare the prevalence of controlled, uncontrolled and undiagnosed hypertension in the population aged over 50 in the US and in England.
Results
Controlled hypertension is more prevalent in the US (age 50 to 64: 0.53 (0.50-0.57) and age 65+: 0.51 (0.49-0.53)) than in England (age 50 to 64: 0.45 (0.42-0.48) and age 65+: 0.42 (0.40-0.45)). This difference is driven by lower undiagnosed hypertension in the US (age 50 to 64: 0.18 (0.15-0.21) and age 65+: 0.13 (0.12-0.14)) relative to England (age 50 to 64: 0.26 (0.24-0.29) and age 65+: 0.22 (0.20-0.24)). The prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension is very similar in the US (age 50 to 64: 0.29 (0.26-0.32) and age 65+: 0.36 (0.34-0.38)) and England (age 50 to 64: 0.29 (0.26-0.32) and age 65+: 0.36 (0.34-0.39)). Hypertension care outcomes are comparable across US insurance categories. In both countries undiagnosed hypertension is positively correlated with wealth (ages 50-64). Uncontrolled hypertension declines with rising wealth in the US.
Conclusions
Different diagnostic practices are likely to drive the cross-country differences in undiagnosed hypertension. US government health systems perform at least as well as private health care and are more equitable in the distribution of care outcomes. Higher undiagnosed hypertension among the affluent may reflect less frequent medical contact.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health |
| Volume | In press |
| Early online date | 23 Nov 2015 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2015 |
Keywords
- Access to health care
- Health inequalities
- Public health
Access to Document
- Marshall_2015_JECH_Comparison_CC
Copyright 2015 the Authors. This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt and build upon this work, for commercial use, provided the original work is properly cited. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/