Introduction
Hypertension has been identified as the leading risk factor
of mortality and the third leading risk factor of the total
burden of disease globally.1 It was estimated that one–
quarter of the world’s adults had hypertension in the year
2000, and that the proportion will increase to 29% by
2025.2 In China, the prevalence of hypertension has
increased rapidly.3 The prevalence of hypertension in the
adult population has quadrupled from 5% in 1959 to nearly
19% in 2002.4 The 2007–2008 China National Diabetes