Background: Although the prevalence of hypertension (HTN) continues to increase in developing countries, including China, recent data are lacking. A nationwide survey was conducted from October 2012 to December 2015 to assess the prevalence of HTN in China.

Methods: A stratified multistage random sampling method was used to obtain a nationally representative sample of 451 755 residents ≥18 years of age from 31 provinces in mainland China from October 2012 to December 2015. Blood pressure (BP) was measured after resting for 5 minutes by trained staff using a validated oscillometric BP monitor. HTN was defined as systolic BP (SBP) ≥140 mm Hg/or diastolic BP (DBP) ≥90 mm Hg or use of antihypertensive medication within 2 weeks. Pre-HTN was defined as SBP 120 to 139 mm Hg and DBP 80 to 89 mm Hg without antihypertensive medication. HTN control was defined as SBP <140 mm Hg and DBP<90 mm Hg. In addition, the prevalence of HTN (SBP ≥130 or DBP ≥80 mm Hg) and control rate (SBP <130 and DBP <80 mm Hg) of HTN were also estimated according to the 2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association High Blood Pressure Guideline.

Results: Overall, 23.2% (≈244.5 million) of the Chinese adult population ≥18 years of age had HTN, and another 41.3% (≈435.3 million) had pre-HTN according to the Chinese guideline. There were no significant differences of HTN prevalence between urban and rural residents (23.4% versus 23.1%, P=0.819). Among individuals with HTN, 46.9% were aware of their condition, 40.7% were taking prescribed antihypertensive medications, and 15.3% had controlled HTN. Calcium channel blockers were the most commonly used antihypertensive medication (46.5%) as monotherapy, and 31.7% of treated hypertensive patients used ≥2 medications. The prevalence of HTN based on the 2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guideline was twice as high as that based on 2010 Chinese guideline (46.4%), whereas the control rate fell to 3.0%.

Conclusions: In China, there is a high prevalence of HTN and pre-HTN, and awareness, treatment, and control of HTN were low. Management of medical therapy for HTN needs to improve.