Blood pressure among South African adults aged 15 and above, 2011–2012
| Normal BP<120/80 mm Hg | Prehypertension 120/80≤BP≤140/90 mm Hg | Hypertension BP≥140/90 mm Hg or taking medication | ||||
| Prev | SE | Prev | SE | Prev | SE | |
| Ages≥15 | ||||||
| Crude | 26.7 | 1.0 | 38.4 | 1.1 | 35.0 | 1.3 |
| Age standardised | 26.3 | 0.9 | 38.6 | 1.1 | 35.1 | 1.1 |
| Age categories | ||||||
| 15–24 | 40.5 | 1.9 | 47.1 | 1.9 | 12.5 | 1.2 |
| 25–34 | 33.5 | 1.9 | 44.7 | 2.2 | 21.8 | 2.0 |
| 35–44 | 21.7 | 2.1 | 41.2 | 2.8 | 37.1 | 3.4 |
| 45–54 | 12.4 | 1.9 | 30.3 | 2.7 | 57.3 | 2.9 |
| 55–64 | 9.9 | 2.5 | 22.2 | 4.0 | 67.9 | 4.6 |
| ≥65 | 4.5 | 0.9 | 12.5 | 2.7 | 83.0 | 3.0 |
| Sex | ||||||
| Men | 22.1 | 1.5 | 42.7 | 1.7 | 35.2 | 1.7 |
| Women | 30.0 | 1.0 | 35.3 | 1.2 | 34.7 | 1.3 |
| Sex by age | ||||||
| Men | ||||||
| 15–24 | 29.5 | 2.8 | 53.7 | 2.9 | 16.8 | 2.0 |
| 25–34 | 25.1 | 3.7 | 47.8 | 3.9 | 27.1 | 3.7 |
| 35–44 | 25.1 | 3.5 | 45.1 | 4.4 | 29.8 | 4.0 |
| 45–54 | 13.7 | 3.7 | 34.8 | 5.0 | 51.5 | 5.0 |
| 55–64 | 10.8 | 4.4 | 22.0 | 5.3 | 67.3 | 6.5 |
| ≥65 | 5.1 | 1.6 | 15.5 | 3.8 | 79.4 | 3.8 |
| Women | ||||||
| 15–24 | 50.5 | 2.0 | 40.7 | 2.2 | 8.8 | 1.4 |
| 25–34 | 39.3 | 2.2 | 42.6 | 2.5 | 18.1 | 2.2 |
| 35–44 | 20.0 | 2.4 | 38.9 | 3.5 | 41.1 | 4.6 |
| 45–54 | 11.5 | 2.0 | 26.7 | 2.9 | 61.8 | 3.5 |
| 55–64 | 8.9 | 1.9 | 22.6 | 3.4 | 68.4 | 3.6 |
| ≥65 | 4.5 | 1.1 | 11.2 | 3.1 | 84.3 | 3.4 |
| Race | ||||||
| African | 26.5 | 1.0 | 39.4 | 1.1 | 34.1 | 1.2 |
| White | 29.9 | 4.4 | 31.2 | 4.9 | 38.9 | 5.1 |
| Coloured | 22.6 | 1.8 | 36.3 | 1.6 | 41.1 | 1.6 |
| Indian/Asian/other | 38.3 | 3.5 | 33.0 | 4.0 | 28.7 | 2.8 |
| Residential location | ||||||
| Urban formal | 24.1 | 1.5 | 38.8 | 1.8 | 37.1 | 1.9 |
| Urban informal | 28.3 | 2.3 | 41.4 | 2.9 | 30.3 | 2.6 |
| Rural informal | 29.3 | 1.5 | 38.4 | 1.6 | 32.3 | 1.6 |
| Rural formal | 25.5 | 2.6 | 34.8 | 2.8 | 39.6 | 1.7 |
| BMI category (kg/m2) | ||||||
| Underweight (BMI<18.5) | 37.6 | 3.7 | 42.0 | 3.6 | 20.4 | 2.5 |
| Normal (18.5≤ BMI<25) | 28.8 | 1.5 | 40.5 | 1.5 | 30.7 | 1.7 |
| Overweight (25≤ BMI<30) | 27.5 | 1.8 | 38.4 | 2.3 | 34.1 | 2.2 |
| Obese (BMI≥30) | 21.0 | 1.9 | 35.6 | 2.2 | 43.4 | 2.3 |
Normal blood pressure=BP<120/80 mm Hg; prehypertension =120/80≤ BP <140/90 mm Hg; total hypertension=BP≥140/90 or currently taking antihypertensive medication. Estimates for the overall population and by sex, race, geography and BMI were age standardised using 5-year age categories between 15 and 74 and an open-ended category of 75 and above. Standard values were obtained from mid-year population estimates for 2012 (Statistics South Africa).
BMI, body mass index; Prev, prevalence.