The Article in Brief

Incidence and Predictors of Hypertension Among Rural Chinese Adults: Results From Liaoning Province

Zhaoqing Sun , and colleagues

Background Cardiovascular disease, including both stroke and heart disease, is the leading cause of death among Chinese adults. Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is an important risk factor for these conditions. This study set out to determine the percentage of new cases of hypertension appearing in China each year, to help assess how quickly it is spreading, and to determine what steps might be needed to control the disease.

What This Study Found There is a high incidence of hypertension among rural Chinese adults. During a period of 28 months from 2004-2006 to 2008, more than 1in 4 adults developed hypertension. Most of these cases were untreated (80 percent) and uncontrolled (98 percent).

Implications

• The annual hypertension incidence of 11.4 percent is higher than that previously reported in China, Canada, or the United States.
• Increases in hypertension are probably related to rapid social changes in China and may apply to other areas of the developing world.
• The authors call for urgent public health measures to prevent and control hypertension.