In 1.4 million adults in England, 59% of people with high blood pressure had never been diagnosed

What the research found

Study (cross-sectional clinic readings). Wenyu Liu, David John Hunter, and colleagues at Oxford Population Health report in BMJ Public Health (2026; 4(3):e004815; doi 10.1136/bmjph-2025-004815; ScienceDaily 2 October 2026). They used Our Future Health readings from people who joined in 2022–2025. Hypertension was a systolic pressure of at least 140 mmHg, a diastolic pressure of at least 90 mmHg, or blood-pressure medicine. About 37% met that definition: 15% of people ages 18 to 39, and 71% of people ages 80 or older. Age-standardized prevalence was 42% in men and 29% in women. Almost 59% of people who met the definition had never been diagnosed and were not on medicine. Among people already taking medicine, half still read 140/90 mmHg or higher. The authors argue that repeating measurements and trying lifestyle changes before medicine, as in current NICE guidance, leaves too many people undetected or undertreated. This is a snapshot of detection, not a test of a drug or a diet. Educational notes. A headline is not a blood-pressure diagnosis.

Evidence level: Human study. A study in people, but an association isn't proof of cause.

Read the original at University of Oxford / BMJ Public Health