Study warns of growing BP problem
NEW ORLEANS, Jan 13, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) — A Tulane University study warns the ratio of world’s adult population with high blood pressure will rise from a quarter to a third by 2025.
That means more than 1.5 billion adults will have BP problems in the next 20 years, says the study published in this week’s issue of Britain’s THE LANCET.
The prevalence of high blood pressure in various regions of the world has been previously reported but this is the first study to estimate the total worldwide figure.
Jaing He and his colleagues at the New Orleans-based university pooled data from 30 population-based studies, published from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2002, involving over 700,000 people, from different regions of the world.
The number of adults with high blood pressure was predicted to increase by about 60 percent to a total of 1.56 billion in 2025.
“High blood pressure is an important health issue not only because of its high frequency but also because it is a major modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease and kidney disease,” Dr. He said.
“Interventions that have proven effective include weight loss, reduced salt intake, moderating alcohol consumption, potassium supplementation, modification of eating habits, and increased physical activity.”