Abstract
BackgroundHypertension is one of the leading causes of disease burden across the world. In China, the latest nationwide survey of prevalence of hypertension was ten year ago, and data in rural areas is little known. More information about hypertension prevalence could help to improve overall antihypertensive health care. We aimed to estimate the pooled prevalence of hypertension in rural areas of China.MethodsComprehensive electronic searches of PubMed, Web of Knowledge, Chinese Web of Knowledge, Wangfang, Weipu and SinoMed databases were conducted to identify any study in each database published from January 1, 2004 to December 31, 2013, reporting the prevalence of hypertension in Chinese rural areas. Prevalence estimates were stratified by age, area, sex, publication year, and sample size. All statistical calculations were made using the Stata Version 11.0 (College Station, Texas) and Statsdirect Version 2.7.9.ResultsWe identified 124 studies with a total population of 3,735,534 in the present meta-analysis. Among people aged 18 years old in Chinese rural areas, the summarized prevalence is 22.81% (19.41%–26.41%). Subgroup analysis shows the following results: for male 24.46% (21.19%–27.89%, for female 22.17% (18.25%–26.35%). For 2004–2006: 18.94% (14.41%–23.94%), for 2007–2009, 21.24% (15.98%–27.01%) for 2010–2013: 26.68%, (20.79%–33.02%). For Northern region 25.76% (22.36%–29.32%), for Southern region 19.30%, (15.48%–24.08%).ConclusionsThe last decade witnessed the growth in prevalence of hypertension in rural areas of China compared with the fourth national investigation, which has climbed the same level as the urban area. Guidelines for screening and treatment of hypertension in rural areas need to be given enough attention.
Highlights
Throughout the world, cardiovascular diseases have become a major public health problem and have been recognized as a leading cause of death and disability in most developed and some developing countries [1, 2]
Comprehensive electronic searches of PubMed, Web of Knowledge, Chinese Web of Knowledge, Wangfang, Weipu and SinoMed databases were conducted to identify any study in each database published from January 1, 2004 to December 31, 2013, reporting the prevalence of hypertension in Chinese rural areas
The last decade witnessed the growth in prevalence of hypertension in rural areas of China compared with the fourth national investigation, which has climbed the same level as the urban area
Summary
Throughout the world, cardiovascular diseases have become a major public health problem and have been recognized as a leading cause of death and disability in most developed and some developing countries [1, 2]. It is estimated that about 25% of the world’s adult population have hypertension, and it will be likely to increase 29% by 2025 [9]. In Europe, an estimated 37%–55% of the adult population are affected by hypertension [10, 11]. The prevalence of hypertension is even higher in some developing countries. These observations indicate the high burden of hypertension in the general population. In China, the latest nationwide survey of prevalence of hypertension was ten year ago, and data in rural areas is little known. We aimed to estimate the pooled prevalence of hypertension in rural areas of China. For Northern region 25.76% (22.36%–29.32%), for Southern region 19.30%, (15.48%– 24.08%)
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