Meta-analysis and time trend prediction of the prevalence of hypertension in Chinese college students

BACKGROUND: To understand the prevalence of hypertension among Chinese college students over the past decade (2010–2020) and predict its future trend, we aim to provide a basis for preventing and controlling hypertension among college students. METHODS: Databases such as Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang database, PubMed, and Web of Science were searched, and publications on the prevalence of hypertension among Chinese college students from 2010 to 2020 were collected. Search for publications in both Chinese and English databases using keywords “hypertension,” “prevalence,” “disease status,” “cross-sectional survey,” “epidemiology,” “China,” “adolescents,” and “college students.” Publication screening, data extraction, and quality assessment were independently conducted by 2 researchers. Meta-analysis was performed using Stata 16, and trends in the prevalence of hypertension among college students were analyzed using R 4.2.0. RESULTS: A total of 37 publications were included in this analysis, which involved 233,603 Chinese college students. The Meta-analysis results showed significant heterogeneity among the studies (I(2) = 98.9%, P < .05). Using a random-effects model, the overall prevalence of hypertension among college students was estimated to be 3.3% (95% CI = 2.9%–3.6%), with a higher prevalence among male students (6.2%, 95% CI = 5.4%–7.1%) than female students (1.1%, 95% CI = 0.9%–1.3%). The prevalence of hypertension is notably higher in northern regions than in southern regions. The prevalence of hypertension among college students showed an increasing trend from 2010 to 2020. Trend analysis predicted that the prevalence of hypertension among college students will reach 10% and 14.6% by 2030 and 2040, respectively. The risk of hypertension in male students was 4.63 times higher than that of female students (95% CI = 2.97–7.23). Compared normal weight students, overweight and obese students had 3.08 times (95% CI = 2.48–3.82) and 6.69 times (95% CI = 2.25–19.90) higher risk of hypertension, respectively. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of hypertension in Chinese college students was about 3.3%. The prevalence of hypertension in male college students was higher than that in females, and the prevalence in northern regions was generally higher than that in southern regions. The prevalence of hypertension among Chinese college students will reach 10.0% in the next 10 years and 14.6% in the next 20 years. Male and BMI ≥ 24 were risk factors for hypertension among college students.