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14/01/2005
Scientists predict high blood pressure will affect billions
One in three adults over 20 will suffer from high blood pressure by 2025, public health researchers have predicted.
This means 1.56 billion people worldwide would eventually be affected by the condition.
A team of researchers at the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, led by epidemiologist Jiang He, carried out hypertension studies around the world in an attempt to assess the global impact of the disease. Over 30 studies conducted around the world were examined, representing over 500,000 adults over the age of 20 worldwide.
The research, which is published in the new edition of 'The Lancet', showed that around one in four adults had high blood pressure, in 2000 – around 972 million adults, 639 million of whom lived in economically developing countries.
The researcher stated that they expected a 60% increase in adults with high blood pressure over the next two decades.
Commenting on the findings of the study, Mr He explained: "Hypertension disproportionately affects people in less economically developed countries. Not only are there greater numbers of people with high blood pressure in these countries, but their governments and citizens lack the resources to prevent, detect and adequately treat hypertension, which ultimately contributes to high rates of early death from heart attack, stroke and kidney disease. By 2025, nearly three out of four people with high blood pressure will be living in an economically developing country."
Mr He said that high blood pressure is "a modifiable risk factor" for life-threatening, chronic diseases and called on the international community to find ways to advocate the necessary life-style changes that can reduce the risks of developing the condition. He recommended losing weight, reducing salt intake, moderating alcohol consumption, changing diet and exercise habits and increasing intake of potassium. These changes, he says, would also help reduce the risk of obesity, as well as developing type-2 diabetes.
(KMcA/SP)
This means 1.56 billion people worldwide would eventually be affected by the condition.
A team of researchers at the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, led by epidemiologist Jiang He, carried out hypertension studies around the world in an attempt to assess the global impact of the disease. Over 30 studies conducted around the world were examined, representing over 500,000 adults over the age of 20 worldwide.
The research, which is published in the new edition of 'The Lancet', showed that around one in four adults had high blood pressure, in 2000 – around 972 million adults, 639 million of whom lived in economically developing countries.
The researcher stated that they expected a 60% increase in adults with high blood pressure over the next two decades.
Commenting on the findings of the study, Mr He explained: "Hypertension disproportionately affects people in less economically developed countries. Not only are there greater numbers of people with high blood pressure in these countries, but their governments and citizens lack the resources to prevent, detect and adequately treat hypertension, which ultimately contributes to high rates of early death from heart attack, stroke and kidney disease. By 2025, nearly three out of four people with high blood pressure will be living in an economically developing country."
Mr He said that high blood pressure is "a modifiable risk factor" for life-threatening, chronic diseases and called on the international community to find ways to advocate the necessary life-style changes that can reduce the risks of developing the condition. He recommended losing weight, reducing salt intake, moderating alcohol consumption, changing diet and exercise habits and increasing intake of potassium. These changes, he says, would also help reduce the risk of obesity, as well as developing type-2 diabetes.
(KMcA/SP)
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