Hypertension prevalence, awareness, control and association with metabolic abnormalities in the San Marino population: the SMOOTH study.

Background: The aim of the SMOOTH (San Marino Observational Outlooking Trial on Hypertension) study was to explore hypertension awareness, treatment and control and the associated metabolic abnormalities and risk factors in the population of San Marino, a small state in the Mediterranean area, for which limited evidence is available.

Methods: Nine general practitioners enrolled 4590 consecutive subjects (44% of the San Marino population age 40-75 years), seen in their office by collecting history, physical and laboratory data and office blood pressure (BP) measurements.

Results: Of these subjects, 2446 were normotensive and 2144 hypertensive; 62.