Evaluation of Hypertension-Related Mortality in Turkey (2000–2014)

Abstract

Objective: Hypertension continues to be the leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality worldwide. The purpose of the present study was to analyze the long-term trends of hypertension mortality in Turkey between 2000 and 2014 (for males and females). Methods: Analyses were based on hypertension mortality data obtained from the Turkish Statistical Institute death database. Age-standardized mortality rates were calculated using direct standardization for each calendar year. We estimated the age-adjusted linear trend for annual percent change and average annual percent change (AAPC) with the corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) using the joinpoint regression analysis. Furthermore, we conducted an age–period–cohort analysis to quantify recent time trends and to evaluate the significance of cohort and period effects. Results: During the study period, a significant upward trend in the mortality of hypertension in Turkey is observed (AAPC=2.7%, 95% CI 1.9%–3.4%). The trend of hypertension mortality has increased in both males (AAPC=7.4%, 95% CI 3.0%–11.9%) and females (AAPC=8.7%, 95% CI 4.1%–13.5%). We found that the net drift rateswere 2.1% (95% CI 0.6%–3.6%) per year for males and 2.0% (95% CI 0.4%–3.7%) per year for females. According to longitudinal age curves, the mortality of hypertension increased with age in both males and females. The period and cohort effects are highly significant in both males and females. Conclusion: Hypertension is one of the leading causes of mortality causing CVD. Knowing the risk factors and preventive methods could help to reduce hypertension-related mortalities.