The Journal of Contemporary Dental Practice

Register      Login

SEARCH WITHIN CONTENT

FIND ARTICLE

Volume / Issue

Online First

Archive
Related articles

VOLUME 8 , ISSUE 3 ( March, 2007 ) > List of Articles

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Prevalence and Severity of Hypertension in a Dental Hygiene Clinic

Cynthia T. Hughes, Marie A. Collins, Ana Luz Thompson, Mary Cannon Downey, Wayne W. Herman, Joseph Louis Konzelman, Sue Tucker Ward

Citation Information : Hughes CT, Collins MA, Thompson AL, Downey MC, Herman WW, JL, Ward ST. Prevalence and Severity of Hypertension in a Dental Hygiene Clinic. J Contemp Dent Pract 2007; 8 (3):13-20.

DOI: 10.5005/jcdp-8-3-13

License: CC BY-NC 3.0

Published Online: 01-05-2008

Copyright Statement:  Copyright © 2007; The Author(s).


Abstract

Aim

The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence and severity of hypertension in a dental hygiene clinic and evaluate factors related to the disease.

Methods and Materials

Records of 615 patients, treated by dental hygiene students during 2003, were reviewed. Data collected included systolic and diastolic blood pressure, presence of diabetes and renal disease, non-modifiers (race, gender, and age), and modifiers (marital status, smoking habits, and occupation).

Results

According to the Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC7) classification, 154 (25%) of the subjects had normal blood pressure readings, 374 (60.8%) had prehypertension, and 87 (14.1%) had stage 1 hypertension. Statistical analysis showed a significant difference in the JNC7 classification between groups when considering the non-modifiers’ race (p=.02) and the modifiers’ smoking habits (p=.03) and occupation (p=.01). A statistically significant difference in the JNC7 classification existed between groups with diabetes (p=.00). The majority of patients had blood pressure readings in the prehypertension stage.

Conclusion

Based on these results, the researchers recommend clinical policy modifications which include: additional documentation for blood pressure readings in the prehypertension stage, lowering the systolic reading from 160 mmHg to 140 mmHg when adding hypertension alert labels, and noting prehypertension/ hypertension on the dental hygiene care plan with the appropriate interventions.

Citation

Thompson AL, Collins MA, Downey MC, Herman WW, Konzelman Jr JL, Ward ST, Hughes CT. Prevalence and Severity of Hypertension in a Dental Hygiene Clinic. J Contemp Dent Pract 2007 March;(8)3:013-020.


PDF Share
  1. JL, Jones DW, Materson BJ, Oparil S, Wright Jr. JT, Rocella EJ, and the National High Blood Pressure Education Program Coordinating Committee. JNC7-Complete Version. Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure. Hypertension 2003;42:1206-52.
  2. Blood pressure screening practices of a group of dental hygienists. J Dent Hygiene 2004;78(4).
  3. The dental hygiene care plan. In E.M. Wilkins Clinical practice of the dental hygienist. Ninth ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2005:351-61.
  4. Heart disease and stroke statistics: 2003 update. Dallas.
  5. The progression from hypertension to congestive heart failure. [comment] J Am Med Assoc 1996;275(20):1557-62.
  6. Monitoring blood pressure. Five minutes critical to quality patient care. J Dent Hygiene 1992;66(8):363-8.
  7. New guidelines for prevention, detection, evaluation and treatment of high blood pressure. J Am Dent Assoc 1998;129(11):1588-94.
  8. Dental management of the medically compromised patient. 6th Edition, St. Louis: Mosby, 2002.
  9. New national guidelines on hypertension. A summary for dentistry. J Am Dent Assoc 2004;135:576-84.
  10. Relationship of occupation to blood pressure among middle-aged Japanese men- the significance of the differences in body mass index and alcohol consumption. J Epidemiol, 1998;8(4),216-226.
  11. Prevalence correlates, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension in a middle-aged urban population in Kerala. Indian Heart J, 2003;55(3)245-251.
  12. Hypertension and diabetes. J Hum Hypertens, 2002;16, Suppl. 1,56-60.
PDF Share
PDF Share

© Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) LTD.