Over a Third of Irish adults Over 50 Have Undiagnosed High Blood pressure, New Research Reveals
DUBLIN – A significant proportion of older adults in Ireland – more than a third – are living with undiagnosed high blood pressure, according to new research from the Trinity Longitudinal ageing Study (Tilda). The study, highlighted in The Irish Times, also reveals a concerning trend of delayed healthcare access, with over 45 per cent of those affected not reporting their symptoms to a healthcare provider.
The findings underscore a growing strain on Ireland’s healthcare system, particularly within acute hospitals, due to preventable conditions and falls. Researchers found that one in 10 adults aged 50 and older experienced a fall serious enough to require medical attention in the past year.This rate increases with age, rising to 13 per cent among those 75 and older, with one in 20 requiring emergency department visits due to falls.
“Falls and fracture prevention should therefore be a public health priority,” the report stated.
Principal investigator of Tilda, Prof Rose anne Kenny, emphasized the real-world consequences of neglecting preventative care.”In the context of blood pressure, people need to think what they want their last 10 years to look like. When we explore that with people, there are two things that keep coming up: they want to be moving and they want memory,” she said.
Prof Kenny further explained the link between conditions like high blood pressure and high cholesterol to serious health risks, stating they are “risk factors for stroke, for vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.”
With the number of people over 60 expected to increase by 60 per cent over the next 15 years, Prof Kenny warned of an “exponential” rise in these illnesses and unsustainable pressure on the health system.She noted a significant gap between life expectancy and healthy lifespan – nearly 13 years – meaning people are living longer with ill health.
Prof Kenny called for a “complete relook” at screening for these conditions,asserting that they are “challenges we can address with the right health and social care systems in place.”
