hypertension has become a nationwide epidemic in china().our study found that 1 in 4 adults in shandong province had hypertension in 2012-an estimated 16 million people. Other surveys,using different methods of sampling and analysis,found that hypertension is becoming common in shandong province(17,18). The prevalence of hypertension in shandong in our study was lower than the pooled prevalence in the northern region(25.8%) and higher than that in the southern region of china(20.4%)(19).
We found that hypertension was more common in rural areas than in urban areas of shandong.a study of the rural population in shandong suggested that the prevalence of hypertension increased by 50% from 1991 to 2007(18). A corresponding trend analysis for urban areas is not available for comparison. At the national level,hypertension among rural population has also increased faster than that among urban populations. In 1959,the national prevalence of hypertension among urban residents was 1.5 time the prevalence among rural residents(2). By 2002,the urban-rural disparity was much diminished(urban-to-rural ratio=1.2)(16), and by 2010, the disparity had further diminished(urban-to-rural ratio=1.05)(20). Therefore, it is not surprising that the burden of hypertension is larger in the rural than the urban population in shandong now. Economic development in china has led to greater availability of blood pressur measurements than before in rural areas; such availability has allowed the detection and diagnosis of hypertension among those with previously undetcted hypertension. In addition,the prevalence of obesity,a major risk factor for hypertension,increased faster in rural areas than in urban areas(21).