The prevalence of hypertension in older Mexican-Americans in the southwest United States has increased slightly in the last decade, according to a new study.
The results showed the hypertension prevalence rate was 73 percent in 1993-1994, compared with 
The prevalence of hypertension in older Mexican-Americans in the southwest United States has increased slightly in the last decade, according to a new study.
The results showed the hypertension prevalence rate was 73 percent in 1993-1994, compared with 78.4 percent in 2004-2005. The increase in hypertension prevalence was significant for subjects 75 to 79 years, for U.S.-born subjects, for subjects with diabetes and for the obese, the researchers said.
The rise is likely due, in part, to increases in diabetes and obesity, researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston said in a statement.
"We always expect that things are improving, right?" said study researcher Kyriakos Markides, a professor of aging studies at the university. "But now we're finding that, in the more recent study participants, they're more disabled, have more diabetes, have slightly more obesity and slightly more hypertension."
Although hypertension, or high blood pressure, is one of the most common diseases in the United States, affecting more than 72 million Americans, it is one of the most manageable risk factors for cardiovascular disease, the researchers said.
The researchers studied 3,952 older Mexican-Americans living in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona and California. They evaluated 3,050 men and women, ages 65 and older, in 1993-1994, and an additional 902 men and women, ages 75 and older, in 2004-2005. Researchers interviewed the study subjects a