Factors Associated With Nonadherence to Hypertension Treatment Among Young Adults in Korea

This study investigated hypertension management in young adults in Korea using data from the 2023 Korean Community Health Survey. We examined treatment patterns and identified factors associated with untreated cases among adults aged 20-39 years diagnosed with hypertension. Among young adults, 21.2% were receiving both drug treatment and lifestyle modification, while 28.6% were neither receiving drug treatment nor lifestyle modification. In addition, 35.5% were receiving only drug treatment, and 14.8% were practicing only lifestyle modification. The percentage of young adults who were not practicing both drug treatment and lifestyle modification was higher than that of adults aged 40 or older. These were associated with male sex (OR: 1.427, 95% CI: 1.12-1.82), BMI (OR: 0.932, 95% CI: 0.91-0.95), current smoking (OR: 1.366, 95% CI: 1.06-1.77), alcohol consumption (≤ once/week, OR: 1.654, 95% CI: 1.14-2.39; ≥ twice/week, OR: 2.484, 95% CI: 1.59-3.87), awareness of one's own blood pressure (OR: 0.194, 95% CI: 0.15-0.26), knowledge of myocardial infarction symptoms (OR: 0.779, 95% CI: 0.71-0.86), education about hypertension management (OR: 0.648, 95% CI: 0.52-0.80), and social network level (OR: 0.934, 95% CI: 0.91-0.96). These findings highlight the need for tailored interventions to improve hypertension awareness and management in young adults.