Among adults attending a humanitarian medical mission in Ukraine, 65.7% had raised blood pressure on crude estimate, yet only 15.8% of those with raised blood pressure had it controlled, revealing substantial gaps in the hypertension care cascade.
The crude prevalence of raised blood pressure among adults at a humanitarian medical mission in Ukraine was 65.7%.
After age standardization to the WHO world population, the prevalence of raised blood pressure fell to 54.7%.
Older age, male sex, and obesity were each independently associated with raised blood pressure.
Among those with raised blood pressure in the cardiovascular screening stream, awareness was 74.6%, treatment was 58.8%, and control was only 15.8%.
Blood pressure was assessed using a single reading per participant, and the sample was self-selected, limiting generalizability to population-level prevalence.
The authors argue that the pattern of common raised blood pressure with poor control supports integrating simple screening and a clear referral pathway into humanitarian medical missions.
This research suggests that among adults who attended a humanitarian medical mission in Ukraine during active conflict, high blood pressure was extremely common and poorly managed. Nearly two-thirds of participants had elevated blood pressure based on a single measurement or a prior diagnosis, and even after adjusting for the age distribution of the sample, more than half still met the criteria. Being older, male, or obese were each independently linked to a higher likelihood of having elevated blood pressure. These findings point to a population under significant cardiovascular stress, consistent with the disruptions to routine medical care that conflict typically causes. Perhaps more striking than the high prevalence was the state of care for those affected. While about three-quarters of people with high blood pressure were aware of their condition, fewer than 60% were receiving treatment, and only about 1 in 6 had their blood pressure under control. This 'care cascade' — from awareness to treatment to control — shows where people are falling through the cracks, with the biggest gap occurring at the control stage. The pattern suggests that even among people who know they have high blood pressure and are taking medication, effective management is rare in this setting. This research suggests that integrating basic blood pressure screening and clear referral pathways into humanitarian medical missions could have meaningful public health value. The authors are careful to note that because participants self-selected to attend the mission and blood pressure was only measured once, the findings cannot be taken as representative of the broader Ukrainian population. Nevertheless, the consistent pattern of high prevalence and low control provides a practical rationale for making hypertension screening a routine component of humanitarian medical operations in conflict zones.
Chen K, Yen E, Tsai K, Lin S, Maistrova R, Tsai W. (2026). Screen-detected raised blood pressure and gaps in the hypertension care cascade among adults attending a humanitarian medical mission in Ukraine: A cross-sectional study.. PloS one. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0357957