Hypertension research : official journal of the Japanese Society of Hypertension
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Using a randomized multistage cluster sampling, we studied the factors associated with the prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of hypertension (defined as systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) measurements ≥140 and 90 mm Hg, respectively, or current drug treatment for hypertension) in a representative sample of the urban Chinese population. The participants were 18-74 years of age and had lived for at least 5 years in an area comprising 33 communities in three cities (Shenyang, Anshan and Jinzhou) in China. A total of 28 830 people were selected; the overall response rate was 87.4% (25 196/28 830). ⋯ Among the individuals aware of their hypertension, treatment was more common in those with a higher level of education and less common among individuals consuming ≥2 alcoholic drinks per day (0.65; 0.52, 0.83). Controlled hypertension was much less common among older persons, and participants who were former smokers (0.49; 0.26, 0.91). The results indicate that more attention is needed to improve the awareness of the potentially fatal nature of hypertension in urban China.