SELF-REPORTED HYPERTENSION AND RACE AMONG HISPANIC AND NON-HISPANIC ADULTS: THE NEW YORK CITY COMMUNITY HEALTH SURVEY

Objectives: To examine the association between race/ethnicity and prevalence of self-reported hypertension in adults who participated in the 2005 Community Health Survey. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of self-reported hypertension in New York City. Logistic regression was fitted to estimate the strength of the association between race/ethnicity and hypertension before and after adjusting for selected covariates. Results: Hispanics reported lower prevalence of hypertension than did non-Hispanics (25.6% vs 28.8%, P<.01). Regardless of ethnicity, Blacks reported higher prevalence of hypertension than did Whites. In the fully adjusted model, both Hispanic and non-Hispanic Blacks had 1.90 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04-4.85) and 1.68 (95% CI 1.39-2.03) greater odds of reporting hypertension than did non-Hispanic Whites, respectively; Hispanic Whites had odds comparable to non-Hispanic Whites. Conclusions: This study suggests that Black race may lead to greater odds of reporting hypertension not only among non-Hispanics but also among Hispanics. Given the effect of race on health and the racial heterogeneity among Hispanics, race should be investigated among Hispanics whenever the data allow it. (Ethn Dis. 2008;18:299-305)