OBJECTIVETo investigate the incidence and risk factors of prehypertension among adults in mainland China and identify the high-risk population.

METHODSSix databases including Chinese Biological Medical Literature Database (CBM), Chinese Science and Technology Periodical Database (VIP), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Database (WF), PubMed and Web of Knowledge were searched for publications documenting the incidence and risk factors of prehypertension among general population in Chinese adults. Eligible studies were selected according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria for meta-analysis using Stata software and RevMan software.

RESULTSTwenty-one published studies were finally included. The results showed that the incidence of prehypertension was 37% in Chinese adults. The pooled SMD (95% confidence interval [CI]) was 0.37 (0.29-0.46) for body mass index, 0.20 (0.12-0.27) for fasting blood glucose (FPG), 0.17 (0.15-0.19) for total cholesterol (TC), 0.22 (0.17-0.27) for triglyceride (TG), 0.13 (0.10-0.15) for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and -0.07 (-0.16-0.02) for high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). For smoking, drinking and family history of hypertension, the pooled OR (95% CI) were 1.44 (1.40-1.47), 1.60 (1.44-1.79), and 1.19 (1.04-1.35), respectively.

CONCLUSIONThe incidence of prehypertension among adults in mainland China is relatively high, especially in males. BMI, FBG, TC, TG, LDL-C, smoking, drinking and family history of hypertension are positively related to prehypertension, and early intervention is recommended to reverse these modifiable risk factors.