Objective:

to analyze the validity of self-reported systemic arterial hypertension (SAH) in the adult population of Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil.

Methods:

this was a study of diagnostic accuracy with 576 adults aged 18 to 59 years; accuracy, sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive values were calculated in order to build the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve.

Results:

the prevalence rates of measured SAH (gold standard) and self-reported SAH were 19.6% and 16.6%, respectively; self-reported SAH showed 53.7% sensitivity and 92.4% specificity; sensitivity ranged from 29.9% in individuals under 40 years of age, to levels above 70.0% among obese individuals and those who reported having dyslipidemia; specificity varied from 70.0% in those who self-reported diabetes mellitus, to 95.3% in underweight patients; the area under the ROC hypertension analysis curve was 0.77 (95%CI 0.72;0.81).

Conclusion:

self-reported SAH in adults 40 years old and over was found to be accurate for use in studies in Rio Branco.

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