Socioeconomic Macro-Level Determinants of Hypertension: Ecological Analysis of 138 Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

Abstract

To assess the relative importance of major socioeconomic determinants of population health on the burden of hypertension in Low-and-Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). Country-level data from 138 countries based on World Development Indicators 2020 were used for correlation and linear regression analyses of eight socioeconomic predictors of hypertension: current health expenditure, domestic general government health expenditure per capita, GDP per capita, adult literacy rate, unemployment rate, urban population, multidimensional poverty index, and total population. The median prevalence of age-standardised hypertension was 25.8% across the 138 countries, ranging from 13.7% in Peru to 33.4% in Niger. For every 10% increase in the unemployment rate, the prevalence of hypertension increased by 2.70%. For every 10% increase in the percentage of people living in urban areas, hypertension was reduced by 0.63%. The findings revealed that countries with high GDP, more investment in health and an improved multidimensional poverty index have a lower prevalence of hypertension.