Table 2.

Characteristic distribution^a of analytic samples for NHANES 2011‐2014 and BRFSS 2013/2015, by hypertension awareness and treatment status^{b, c, d}

	NHANES 2011‐2014								BRFSS 2013/2015
	Total		Unawareb		Aware/Untreatedc		Aware/Treatedd		Total		Unawareb		Aware/Untreatedc		Aware/Treatedd
	(n = 10 199)		(n = 6458)		(n = 948)		(n = 2793)		(n = 817 426)		(n = 480 503)		(n = 53 437)		(n = 283 486)
	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%	n	%
Sex
Men	5045	49	3247	49.6	511	54.1	1287	45.3	339 289	48.7	195 417	47.7	28 318	61.4	115 554	47.9
Women	5154	51	3211	50.4	437	45.9	1506	54.7	478 137	51.3	285 086	52.3	25 119	38.6	167 932	52.1
Age in years
20‐29	1713	18.3	1 576	25.2	118	14.1	19	0.7	65 852	16.7	59 756	22.9	4839	16.9	1257	1.1
30‐39	1756	17.4	1432	21.4	208	20.9	116	4.9	88 878	17.2	75 080	22	7532	21.3	6266	4.3
40‐49	1787	19	1269	20.6	214	24.6	304	12.4	113 386	17.5	84 324	19.6	9312	21	19 750	11.5
50‐59	1696	19	970	16.8	184	22.2	542	23.8	171 337	19.6	103 827	17.7	13 138	21.2	54 372	24.1
60‐69	1698	14.3	714	10	132	10.8	852	27.7	188 921	15.4	88 761	10.6	10 829	12.4	89 331	28.3
≥70	1549	12.1	497	6	92	7.5	960	30.5	189 052	13.5	68 755	7.3	7787	7.2	112 510	30.8
Race‐ethnicity
Non‐Hispanic white	4104	66.6	2 525	65	389	65.1	1190	71.7	658 893	66.8	387 571	65.7	41 898	63.9	229 424	70.2
Non‐Hispanic black	2372	11.3	1264	9.8	228	12.9	880	14.6	66 460	11.8	30 165	10.1	4370	12.7	31925	15.7
Hispanic	2141	14.3	1476	16.3	206	14.8	459	8.6	52 600	14.9	36 917	16.8	4216	17.3	11 467	9.4
Other	1582	7.8	1193	8.9	125	7.3	264	5.1	39 473	6.6	25 850	7.3	2953	6	10 670	4.7
Education (≥25 y)
<High school	2125	14.4	1147	12.4	202	15.9	776	19.2	59 979	14.3	27 819	11.3	4637	16.1	27 523	16.7
High school graduate	1992	18.6	1113	16.7	223	21.8	656	22.7	219 700	18.5	112 232	22	14 541	25.7	92 927	31.3
Some college or AA degree	2653	27.5	1553	25.1	273	32.2	827	32.5	212 513	27.5	120 017	26.1	14 944	28.8	77 552	30.1
College graduate	2496	29.7	1784	32.2	183	22.5	529	25.4	294 669	29.8	192 146	28.5	17 373	21.9	85 150	21.5
<25 y of age	933	9.8	861	13.6	67	7.5	5	0.2	30 565	9.9	28 289	12.1	1942	7.4	334	0.3
Household incomee
<$35 K	3939	29.6	2298	27.3	414	34.8	1227	33.9	271 102	29.5	139 381	31.8	20 420	39.5	111 301	38.8
≥$35 K	5792	67	3856	69.2	497	62.1	1439	62.7	432 555	67.1	278 388	55.6	26 647	49.2	127 520	46.8
Missing income	468	3.4	304	3.5	37	3.1	127	3.4	113 769	3.4	62 734	12.5	6370	11.3	44 665	14.4
Health insurancef
Yes	7916	81.1	4710	77.3	673	76.4	2533	92.9	743 440	85.7	427 802	83.4	45 221	78.5	270 417	93.3
No	2283	18.9	1748	22.6	275	23.6	260	7.1	73 986	14.3	52 701	16.6	8216	21.5	13 069	6.7
Current smokerg
Yes	2080	19.9	1369	20.3	262	28.4	449	15.4	125 649	17.6	77 160	17.9	11 863	25.7	36 626	14.9
No	8119	80.1	5089	79.7	686	71.6	2344	84.6	691 777	82.4	403 343	82.1	41 574	74.3	246 860	85.1
Alcohol consumptionh
None	5244	45.2	3258	44	468	44.3	1518	48.7	492 647	57.7	268 440	54.3	30 605	54.6	193 602	66.8
<1 drink/day	2605	30	1879	33.6	241	27.2	485	21	222 839	29.2	150 496	32.3	14 241	27.9	58 102	21.7
≥1 drink/day	1279	15.7	820	15.3	149	18.9	310	15.6	101 940	13.2	61 567	13.3	8591	17.5	31 782	11.5
Missing alcohol	1071	9.2	501	7.1	90	9.6	480	14.7
Any physical activityi
Yes	5098	54.4	3549	59.3	447	48.6	1102	42.9	572 367	69.5	355 608	72.4	36 697	67.8	180 062	62.7
No	5101	45.6	2909	40.7	501	51.4	1691	57.1	206 748	24.7	101 467	21.5	14 304	26.4	90 977	32.2
Missing PA	0		0		0		0		38 311	5.8	23 428	6.1	2436	5.7	12 447	5.1
Diabetesj , k
Yes	1366	10.3	416	4.7	90	7.4	860	26.8	106 318	10.9	26 029	4.5	5617	9.1	74 672	27.4
No	8833	89.7	6042	95.3	858	92.6	1933	73.2	711 108	89.1	454 474	95.5	47 820	90.9	208 814	72.6
High cholesterolj,l
Yes	3536	34.9	1482	23.9	353	38.8	1701	63.3	316 137	31.8	122 788	20.4	23 224	38.8	170 125	58.5
No	6663	65.1	4976	76.1	595	61.2	1092	36.7	501 289	68.2	357 715	79.6	30 213	61.2	113 361	41.5
History of CVDj , m
Yes	927	7.6	221	3.1	68	5.8	638	20.6	97106	9	25 449	3.8	5606	8.3	66 051	22.1
No	9272	92.4	6237	96.9	880	94.2	2155	79.4	720 320	91	455 054	96.2	47 831	91.7	217 435	77.9

BRFSS, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System; CVD, cardiovascular disease; NHANES, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

^aUnweighted sample size (n) and weighted percent (%).

^bUnaware is defined as: NHANES: an answer of "no" to the question "Have you ever been told by a doctor, nurse, or other health professional that you have high blood pressure?"; BRFSS: an answer of "No," "Yes, but female told only during pregnancy," or "Told borderline high or pre‐hypertensive" to the question: "Have you EVER been told by a doctor, nurse, or other health professional that you have high blood pressure?"

^cAware/Untreated is defined as: NHANES: an answer of "yes" to the question "Have you ever been told by a doctor, nurse, or other health professional that you have high blood pressure?" and an answer of no to the questions "Because of your high blood pressure/hypertension have you ever been told to take prescribed medicine?" or "Are you now taking a prescribed medicine?"; BRFSS: an answer of "Yes" to the question: "Have you EVER been told by a doctor, nurse, or other health professional that you have high blood pressure?" and an answer of "No" to the question: "Are you currently taking medicine for your high blood pressure?"

^dAware/Treated is defined as: NHANES: an answer of "yes" to the questions "Have you ever been told by a doctor, nurse, or other health professional that you have high blood pressure?", "Because of your high blood pressure/hypertension have you ever been told to take prescribed medicine?", and "Are you now taking a prescribed medicine?"; BRFSS: An answer of "Yes" to the questions: "Have you EVER been told by a doctor, nurse, or other health professional that you have high blood pressure?" and "Are you currently taking medicine for your high blood pressure?"

^eHousehold Income is defined by answers to the questions (unknowns and refusals defined as "missing"): NHANES: "Now I am going to ask about the total combined income in the last 12 mo, including income from all sources we have just talked about such as wages, salaries, Social Security or retirement benefits, help from relatives and so forth. Can you tell me that amount before taxes?" (reported as a range value in dollars); BRFSS: "Is your annual household income from all sources...?" (reported as a range value in dollars)

^fHealth insurance is defined by an answer of "yes"/"no" to the questions (unknowns and refusals excluded): NHANES: "Are you covered by health insurance or some other kind of health care plan?"; BRFSS: "Do you have any kind of health care coverage, including health insurance, prepaid plans such as HMOs, or government plans such as Medicare?"

^gCurrent smoking status is defined by answers to the questions: "Have you smoked at least 100 cigarettes in your entire life?" and "Do you now smoke cigarettes every day, some days, or not at all?" Unknowns and refusals excluded.

^hAverage alcohol consumption (drinks per day) is defined by answers to the questions (unknowns and refusals defined as "missing"): NHANES: "In any one year, have you had at least 12 drinks of any type of alcoholic beverage? By a drink, I mean a 12 oz. beer, a 4 oz. glass of wine, or an ounce of liquor." and "In your entire life, have you had at least 12 drinks of any type of alcoholic beverage?" and "In the past 12 mo, how often did you drink any type of alcoholic beverage?" and "In the past 12 mo, on those days that you drank alcoholic beverages, on the average, how many drinks did you have?"; BRFSS: "During the past 30 d, have you had at least one drink of any alcoholic beverage such as beer, wine, a malt beverage or liquor?" and "During the past 30 d, how many days per week or per month did you have at least one drink of any alcoholic beverage?" and "One drink is equivalent to a 12‐ounce beer, a 5‐ounce glass of wine, or a drink with one shot of liquor. During the past 30 d, on the days when you drank, about how many drinks did you drink on the average?"

ⁱLeisure‐time physical activity is defined by answers to the questions (unknowns and refusals excluded): NHANES: "Over the past 30 d, did you do any vigorous activities for at least 10 minutes that caused heavy sweating, or large increases in breathing or heart rate?" and "Over the past 30 d, did you do moderate activities for at least 10 minutes that cause only light sweating or a slight to moderate increase in breathing or heart rate?"; BRFSS: "During the past month, other than your regular job, did you participate in any physical activities or exercises such as running, calisthenics, golf, gardening, or walking for exercise?"

^jBased on self‐report in NHANES to align with BRFSS.

^kDiabetes is defined by answers to the questions (unknowns and refusals excluded): NHANES: "Other than during pregnancy, have you ever been told by a doctor or health professional that you have diabetes or sugar diabetes?" Answers of "Borderline" are defined as no diabetes. BRFSS: "Have you ever been told by a doctor that you have diabetes?" Answers of "No, pre‐diabetes or borderline diabetes," or "Yes, but female told only during pregnancy" are defined as no diabetes.

^lHigh cholesterol is defined by answers to the questions (unknowns and refusals excluded): NHANES: "Have you ever been told by a doctor or other health professional that your blood cholesterol level was high?"; BRFSS: "Have you EVER been told by a doctor, nurse or other health professional that your blood cholesterol is high?"

^mHistory of CVD is defined by answers to the questions (unknowns and refusals excluded): NHANES: "Has a doctor or other health professional ever told you that you had…?": "…coronary heart disease?", "angina, also called angina pectoris?", "a heart attack (also called myocardial infarction?", "a stroke?"; BRFSS: "Has a doctor, nurse, or other health professional ever told you that you had any of the following?": "angina or coronary heart disease", "a heart attack, also called myocardial infarction", "a stroke"