Urban-Rural Disparity of Overweight, Hypertension, Undiagnosed Hypertension, and Untreated Hypertension in China

The objective of this study was to examine the urban-rural variations in the prevalence of overweight, hypertension, undiagnosed hypertension, and untreated hypertension among adults. The China Health and Nutrition Survey was used to study adults 25 to 65 years old. Logistic regression was used to obtain the odds ratios (ORs) after adjusting for demographic, socioeconomic, and lifestyle variables. Urban adults have a higher probability of being overweight (OR = 1.18, P < .01) and having hypertension (OR = 1.19, P < .1). After further controlling for lifestyle variables, the difference is not significant. Urban hypertensive adults are less likely to be undiagnosed (OR = 0.54, P < .001) and untreated (OR = 0.53, P < .001), even after controlling for socioeconomic and lifestyle variables, suggesting that there are other reasons for the urban-rural disparity of undiagnosed and untreated hypertension. This finding suggests that modifying lifestyles is critical in preventing urban adults from being overweight. Interventions targeting rural adults should promote the awareness and treatment of hypertension.