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oai:figshare.com:article/34050553 2026-10-01T21:40:02Z category_7 category_21 category_272 category_45 category_931 category_106 portal_87 item_type_3 month_year_10_2026

Hypertension epidemiology and primary care indicators in Portugal: a contemporary nationwide analysis Rosa de Pinho (21099872) Luís Nogueira-Silva (25158820) José Lima Nogueira (25158823) Francisca Abecasis (25158826) Vasco Varela (25158829) Cláudia de Oliveira Pinho (25158832) Ana Catarina Gomes (6066914) Catarina Venda Grilo (25158835) Daniel Ramos (283165) Daniela Mariana Zagalo (22485527) Filipa Bernardo (20613918) Guilherme Pessoa-Amorim (10337777) João Couceiro (12552607) Marisa Pardal (25158838) Rita Canhoto (25158841) Rudolfo Francisco (25158844) Patrícia Branco (7888700) Fernando Pinto (24980626) Fernando Martos Gonçalves (23184012) Heloísa Ribeiro (23184006) Medicine Biotechnology Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified Sociology Information Systems not elsewhere classified Science Policy Hypertension real-world evidence primary care healthcare performance Portugal health systems research quality indicators <p>Hypertension remains a leading contributor to cardiovascular mortality worldwide. However, integrated surveillance frameworks linking epidemiological burden, healthcare performance, and clinical outcomes remain limited. This study aimed to characterise hypertension epidemiology and management in Portuguese primary health care using real-world evidence from publicly-available indicators.</p> <p>A retrospective ecological (aggregated group-level) study was conducted, using the five Portuguese mainland administrative health regions and the country as the units of analysis, with data obtained from Portuguese primary health care information systems from 2021-2025. Temporal and regional trends in hypertension prevalence and incidence, blood pressure (BP) monitoring and control, cardiovascular risk assessment, therapeutic review, prescribing patterns, and composite management indicators were assessed. A multidisciplinary expert panel provided structured clinical appraisal of indicator relevance and interpretability.</p> <p>Hypertension prevalence and incidence increased nationally, with regional heterogeneity. The Norte region showed higher performance across monitoring and control indicators, whereas Algarve and Alentejo exhibited generally poorer results. BP monitoring and control improved across all regions, with the proportion of hypertensive adults aged 18–64 years, with BP <140/90 mmHg increasing from 29.3% in 2021 to 65.0% in 2025. Composite management indicators improved, but the degree of improvement varied between different index versions. Medication costs generally increased up to 2024 but decreased afterwards, while prescription indicators remained stable</p> <p>Hypertension management indicators in Portuguese primary care improved substantially between 2021 and 2025; however, regional disparities and methodological limitations remain. Current monitoring frameworks provide valuable real-world insights but incompletely capture clinically meaningful outcomes, supporting the need for more outcome-directed systems.</p> <p></p><p>What is the context: Hypertension is a major cardiovascular risk factor, and monitoring its management across Portugal’s primary care system helps assess annual trends and regional difference.</p><p>What is new: Between 2021 and 2025, hypertension prevalence rose slightly nationwide, particularly in Alentejo, although blood pressure control improved substantially across all regions, with Norte showing the strongest gains.</p><p>What is the impact: Improved primary care hypertension indicators may reflect progress in disease management, changes in coding or recording practices, or both. Future efforts should prioritise standardised blood pressure documentation and linkage of primary care, hospital, and cardiovascular outcomes data, enabling outcome-oriented surveillance that can guide health policies into addressing regional inequalities, and contributing to measurable improvements in morbidity and mortality.</p><p></p> <p>What is the context: Hypertension is a major cardiovascular risk factor, and monitoring its management across Portugal’s primary care system helps assess annual trends and regional difference.</p> <p>What is new: Between 2021 and 2025, hypertension prevalence rose slightly nationwide, particularly in Alentejo, although blood pressure control improved substantially across all regions, with Norte showing the strongest gains.</p> <p>What is the impact: Improved primary care hypertension indicators may reflect progress in disease management, changes in coding or recording practices, or both. Future efforts should prioritise standardised blood pressure documentation and linkage of primary care, hospital, and cardiovascular outcomes data, enabling outcome-oriented surveillance that can guide health policies into addressing regional inequalities, and contributing to measurable improvements in morbidity and mortality.</p> 2026-10-01T21:40:02Z Dataset Dataset 10.6084/m9.figshare.34050553.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Hypertension_epidemiology_and_primary_care_indicators_in_Portugal_a_contemporary_nationwide_analysis/34050553 CC BY 4.0