Regional Health Disparities in Hypertension-Related Hospitalization of Hypertensive Patients: A Nationwide Population-Based Nested Case-Control Study.

This study aims to explore regional health disparities in hypertension-related hospitalizations and confirm this difference according to the states of continuity of care (COC). We used the National Health Insurance Service National Sample Cohort data from 2002 to 2019. The dependent variable, hypertension-related hospitalization, included hospitalization for hypertensive diseases (I10-I13, I15), ischemic heart disease (I20-I25), and cerebrovascular disease (I60-I69). Nested case-control matching was performed according to age, sex, and income level. We compared hypertension-related hospitalization fractions in urban and rural areas by classifying them according to the state of COC and analyzed them using conditional logistic regression suitable for matched data. The odds of hypertension-related hospitalization of hypertensive patients were higher in the rural areas than in the urban areas; however, as the COC increased, the difference decreased. There was no change in the results according to the COC observation period. To reduce regional health disparities, both the promotion of COC and the improvement of the quality of primary care must be achieved.