Hypertension prevalence, awareness, treatment, control and associated factors in a developing southern Chinese population: analysis of serial cross-sectional health survey data 2002-2010

background The aim of this study was to investigate trends in the distribution, prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension in a Chinese population that has had the fastest growing gross domestic product in the world over the past 3 decades. methods Four standardized cross-sectional health surveys were conducted between 2002 and 2010 in a population consisting of 85 million residents in Guangdong Province. Multistage cluster sampling was adopted to recruit representative samples. The data were obtained through on-site health examinations and face-to-face interviews. results The aging trend in this population was not significant (P = 0.17) during the survey period, whereas body mass index/waist circumference increased significantly (P = 0.047 for body mass index and P