According to a new study, middle- and lower-income countries have a higher rate of
hypertension than high-income countries. The study is published in the
journal Circulation.
The rate of hypertension
in middle- and lower-income countries increased by nearly eight
percentage points from 2000 to 2010 as compared to a decline of 3 percentage point in higher income countries.
The study was conducted by Jiang He of Tulane University School of Public Health and team. They analysed studies published from
Jan. 1, 1995, to Dec. 31, 2014, addressed
sex- and age-specific rates of high blood pressure, and grouped
countries using a World Bank classification system.
Based on the estimate, 1.39 billion adults across the globe had high
blood pressure in 2010 compared with 921 million in 2000. The
prevalence of hypertension in high-income countries dropped from 31.1
percent in 2000 to 28.5 percent in 2010 as compared to an increase from 23.8 to to 31.5 percent in middle and low-income
countries over the same time period.
Findings also showed that the East Asia and Pacific region
had the highest rate of increase in adults with 439 million people suffering from hypertension. Similar increases have been observed in the South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa regions with 114 million more people and 78 million more
people respectively living with hypertension in 2010 than in 2000.
Findings also showed disparities between middle- and lower-income countries and
high-income countries when it came to hypertension awareness and
treatment. Around 38 percent of people in middle and lower income countries were aware of their high blood pressure status as compared to 67 percent in high-income countries. Similarly, 56 percent of people in high-income countries were likely to receive treatment as compared to only 29 percent in middle and lower-income countries.
Source: Circulation
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