The aim of the study as to ascertain whether gender and socio-economic variables can explain differences in the degree of severity of hypertension (HT) at the time of diagnosis. Patients were recently diagnosed and never-treated hypertensives, seen in primary care sites and aged 15-75. This study also included a cohort of normotensive patients. All individuals were invited to respond a questionnaire to collect socio-demographic and socio-economic data. Target organ damage (TOD) is considered a marker of severity. Three hundred and eighty-eight individuals responded to the questionnaire, 277 hypertensive, 111 normotensive. In an ordered probit model, the odds ratio of presenting with more than one TOD were: Aged >67 (OR=1.22; 1.06-1.38), being a smoker (OR=1.21; 1.02-1.40) or ex-smoker (OR=2.89; 1.27-4.51), primary school education (OR=2.17; 1.47-2.87), being male (OR=0.75; 0.59-0.90), being an agricultural worker (OR=0.03; 0.00-0.05) or a salaried professional (OR=0.96; 0.94-0.99). The results show differences in the severity of the HT in the initial assessment of the patient according to gender or other socio-economic variables. It is particularly important at the time of carrying out the diagnosis and the HT assessment.