Prevalence of and risk factors for isolated systolic hypertension in the rural adult population of Liaoning Province, China.

The prevalence of and associated risk factors for isolated systolic hypertension, as defined by the Joint National Committee (JNC)-6 classification, were investigated in the rural population of Liaoning Province, China. A total of 45,925 people aged 35 years or older were examined in a cross-sectional study. Overall, the prevalence of isolated systolic hypertension was 10.6% (males 10.1%; females 11.2%). The prevalence of isolated systolic hypertension was positively correlated with age, gender, smoking status, alcohol intake, body mass index, salt intake and Mongolian race. This study showed that isolated systolic hypertension was very common in rural Chinese people and that many risk factors are linked with isolated systolic hypertension.