Introduction:
High blood pressure, or hypertension, affects millions of individuals in the United States each year and is a leading cause of heart disease and stroke. Fortunately, it is largely preventable and manageable through lifestyle changes and medication. In New Jersey, blood pressure screenings and management programs are readily available. Regular monitoring, a healthy diet, and physical activity are key to controlling high blood pressure. The Madison Borough Health Department makes efforts in educating the community to manage hypertension through newsletters.
Data:
The United States Centers for Disease Control (CDC) conducts an ongoing national survey known as the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS). In partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the CDC released local level estimates on blood pressure rates for 2021.
Results:
In Morris county, the estimated prevalence of high blood pressure among adults aged 18-64 years (%) was 29.9 with 95% CI (26.7, 33.2) , and the age-adjusted prevalence (%) was 25.7 (22.7, 28.6) in 2022. According to the Census 2022 county population estimates, 407,308 adults live in Morris County. In the census tract with Drew University, the estimated prevalence of high blood pressure among adults aged 18-64 years (%) was 20.2 with 95% CI (17.9, 22.6) in 2022. According to the Census 2020, there were 3,829 adults live in this tract.
Conclusion:
Understanding locational differences in blood pressure and access to healthcare is crucial for local and county health departments, as it helps them identify areas where targeted interventions can reduce gaps in care and address health disparities. These health measures also provide valuable insights into how both the built environment, and the natural environment contribute to health outcomes. By analyzing these factors, the public can better understand the pathways that lead to disease or promote resilience and well-being, and public health officials can implement interventions that improve health at the community level.
About the Data:
The CDC Places data sets are part of a series, spelling out the acronym as Place Level Analysis and Community Estimates. The latest estimates are for 2020 census population data.
Other data sources visualized in the images here and on web maps are from the New Jersey Office of GIS (including County and Municipal Boundaries of New Jersey).
A webmap of the county level PLACES results can be found here:
A webmap of the census tract results for Madison can be found here:
