World Hypertension Day

Prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of hypertension in Tibetan monks from Gansu Province, Northwest China

Tibetan monks are a special group in life style and diet customs. We have little information of hypertension about them. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the information on the prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of hypertension in these populations. A cross-sectional study of hypertension was carried out in 984 monks and 1042 Tibetan residents' controls in the same area. All the subjects were selected for interview, and physical examination involved blood pressure (BP) measurement. The overall prevalence of hypertension in monks was significantly lower than those in local residents (19.3% versus 34.1%; p < 0.01). The rates of awareness, treatment and control in monks were also lower than those in local residents (9.5% versus 16.9%, 4.2% versus 13.2% and 1.6% versus 4.5%; p < 0.01 for each). These findings indicated that a low prevalence of hypertension among monks aged 18 years and over in Gannan Tibetan autonomous district of Gansu province in China. We concluded that the relatively healthy diet and ways of life in monks were the major contributing factors to the lower prevalence of hypertension. However, the awareness, treatment and control rates of hypertension were also low. The possible reasons were most likely due to the difficult access to quality medical care and poor health education.

Healthy weight - healthy blood pressure

World Hypertension Day is an initiative of the World Hypertension League. This year's theme is "Healthy weight - healthy blood pressure". According to the World Health Organization, more than one billion people worldwide are reported to be overweight and more than 300 million people are obese. Obesity is linked to hypertension, kidney diseases and other cardiovascular diseases. Through World Hypertension Day, the World Hypertension League, in partnership with national and international organizations, aims to raise the awareness of obesity and hypertension. Simple manoeuvres such as eating healthy, being physically active, and changing nutritional and dietary behaviours are recommended.