Factors impacting poor hypertension control in young urban adults in a Malaysian primary care clinic

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of hypertension among young adults is increasing and with it the risk of cardiovascular events. Thus, this study was conducted to determine the prevalence and factors that are associated with poor BP control in young adults (18-39 years old) in a government primary healthcare centre in Klang Valley, Malaysia. METHODS: This cross-sectional study analysed 191 hypertensive patients from the Tele-Primary Care (TPC) registry (Dec 2019-Dec 2020). BP control was defined using the Malaysian Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) 2018. RESULTS: with half the patients in obesity class 1 (50.3%) category. Most common comorbidity was dyslipidemia (72.0%) and diabetes mellitus (DM) (47.6%). Through multivariate logistic regression, having DM was independently associated with poor BP control (AOR = 6.591, 95% CI = 2.373, 18.306, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Poor BP control was worryingly high in young adults with hypertension, especially those with DM. Aggressive screening and stricter adherence to risk-stratified BP targets are essential.