Time to Switch to 'Rule of Three-Quarters' from 'Rule of Halves' in Hypertension? A Descriptive Study from Dakshina Kannada, South India

Background ‘Rule of halves’ depicts the overall picture of hypertension that prevails in a community. This study was taken up to understand if the traditional ‘rule of halves’ of hypertension still prevails or is it time to shift to the proposed ‘rule of three-quarters’. The objectives of the study were: to estimate (i) the prevalence of hypertension among adult residents of Madani Nagar rural community in the Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka state in southern India, (ii) the proportion who are aware of their disease among hypertensive patients, (iii) the proportion who are on treatment among those who are aware of their disease, and (iv) the proportion having adequate blood pressure control among those on treatment. Materials and methods This was a cross-sectional study carried out in Madani Nagar, Dakshina Kannada from February to April 2020. Complete enumeration method was followed and all adults aged ≥ 18 years who consented were included in the study. Data collection was done using a pre-validated questionnaire and blood pressure was recorded as per World Health Organization guidelines. Results A total of 661 individuals were enrolled in the study. The prevalence of hypertension was 29.2%. Only 55.4% of hypertensive patients were aware that they had the disease, and among them, 96.3% were on treatment. Among those on treatment, 58.3% had adequate control of blood pressure. Conclusion The hypertension pattern of the community leans more towards the traditional ‘rule of halves’ of hypertension and it is still a long way ahead until the proposed ‘rule of three-quarters’ can be achieved.