Table 1

Characteristics of participants included in the analysis (treated hypertensives, N=99 468)

VariableLevels (for categorical)n%
Median age, years (IQR)62.3(57.3–66.0)
Age group, years40–4977177.8
50–5927 82328.0
60–6963 92864.3
GenderFemale45 60745.9
Male53 86154.1
Ethnic groupWhite92 38592.9
Black23622.4
S.Asian21182.1
Mixed4580.5
Other16411.6
Unanswered5040.5
Household income, GBPGreater than 100 00025292.5
52 000 to 1 00 00011 03911.1
31 000 to 51 99918 36818.5
18 000 to 30 99923 95624.1
Less than 18 00026 44326.6
Do not know53535.4
Unanswered11 78011.8
Occupation category*Professional and administrative33 46433.6
Skilled trades42324.3
Services50785.1
Manual and industrial64436.5
Other employment31183.1
Retired37 08137.3
Unable to work because of sickness or disability53045.3
Unemployed/unanswered47484.8
Highest level of education (ISCED)†5: Tertiary38 92439.1
4: Post-secondary non-tertiary12 22412.3
2–3: Secondary20 63520.7
1: Primary25 60625.7
Unanswered20792.1
UK country of residence‡England88 12288.6
Scotland71097.1
Wales42374.3
BMI (categorical)§Underweight1970.2
Normal (ref)17 20617.3
Overweight41 57441.8
Obese39 88740.1
Unanswered6040.6
Smoking statusNever48 97449.2
Previous40 59540.8
Current92549.3
Unanswered6450.6
Median reported duration of hypertension, years (IQR)7.3(3.6–12.6)
No of antihypertensive medications148 50148.8
233 67833.9
≥313 83613.9
Medication list unavailable34533.5
Cardiovascular diseaseNo80 12480.6
Yes19 34419.4
DiabetesNo84 04084.5
Yes15 42815.5
No of comorbidities¶044 96845.2
136 90137.1
213 58313.7
≥340164.0
  • *Occupation categories have been condensed from those recorded in UKB. Professional and administrative: managers and senior officials, professional occupations, associate professional and technical occupations, administrative and secretarial occupations. Skilled trades: skilled trades occupations. Services: personal service occupations, sales and customer service occupations. Manual and industrial: process, pPlant and machine operatives, elementary occupations. Other employment: free text entry that was not coded by UKB.

  • †Self-reported highest education achieved was mapped to the ISCED categories.

  • ‡The assessment centre the participant attended was used as a proxy for country of residence.

  • §BMI has been categorised as: underweight <18.5 kg/m2; normal 18.5–24.9 kg/m2; overweight 25.0–29.9 kg/m2; obese ≥30.0 kg/m2.

  • ¶The conditions that counted towards the number of comorbidities were: cardiovascular disease, diabetes, arrhythmia (afib/flutter), asthma or COPD, migraines, epilepsy, anxiety, depression, osteoarthritis, other joint disorder.

  • BMI, body mass index; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; ISCED, International Standard Classification of Education; UKB, UK Biobank.