The aim of this work was to assess the 5-year incidence of
hypertension and its predictors among prehypertensive adults. Under the context of the ATTICA Study, data from 1188 individuals, free of
cardiovascular disease, but with defined
high blood pressure levels (
prehypertension) at baseline examination (during 2001-2002) were retrieved. In 2006, the 5-year follow-up of the study was performed, and 798 of the prehypertensive participants were allocated. In this work, incidence and determinants of developing
hypertension were evaluated. The 5-year ageadjusted incidence of
hypertension was 18.7% in men and 24.6% in women (P = 0.05); while almost one half of prehypertensive individuals at the age of 55-65 years developed
hypertension, and approximately 6 out of 10 people over 65 years of age developed the disease. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that increased age (odds ratio [OR] per 1 year = 1.09, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.07-1.12), male sex (OR = 0.40, 95% CI 0.21-0.68), high education status (OR per 1 year of school = 0.94, 95% CI 0.88-0.98), waist circumference (OR per 1 cm = 1.04, 95% CI 1.02-1.06) and
C-reactive protein (OR per 1 mg/l = 1.12, 95% CI 1.05-1.20), were positively associated with the development of
hypertension. Moreover, greater adherence to
Mediterranean diet seems to protect only prehypertensive, with
abdominal obesity patients prone to develop
hypertension (OR = 0.94, 95% CI 0.90-0.98). Annual incidence of
hypertension was roughly 4% in men and women. Older people, with low education,
abdominal obesity, lower adherence to the
Mediterranean diet, and increased
inflammation, constitute a model of prehypertensive individuals that are prone to develop
hypertension.