May Measurement Month 2023: results of an opportunistic blood pressure screening campaign in China

Abstract The May Measurement Month (MMM) project was conducted in China in 2023 to raise awareness of high blood pressure (BP). The study participants were adults aged ≥18 years, ideally in whom BP had not been measured in the previous year. BP was measured three times consecutively with 1-min intervals in the sitting position, using a validated upper-arm cuff automated BP monitor. A questionnaire was administered to collect information on medical history, lifestyle and use of medications. Measurements were performed in 114,752 participants in 53 sites across 29 of the 32 China provinces. Hypertension was defined as having systolic BP ≥140 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥90 mmHg or taking BP-lowering medication. The study participants had a mean (standard deviation) age of 47.8 (15.3) years and included 46.7% (n=53,588) women. Overall, 41,422 (36.1%) reported never having had a BP measured before, and 34,638 (30.2%) had hypertension. In participants with hypertension, the awareness, treatment, and control rates were 15.0% (n=5199), 13.8% (n=4777), and 6.2% (n=2135), respectively. After adjustment for age, sex, and use of antihypertensive medication, compared to participants consuming omnivore diet (n=105,201), those consuming vegetarian diet (n=7221, 6.3%) had lower systolic (-3.4 mmHg, P<0.0001) but higher diastolic BP (+1.2 mmHg, P<0.0001). Nonetheless, diastolic BP (-1.1 mmHg, P=0.049) was lower in those consuming vegan diet (n=503, 0.4%), but there was no difference for systolic BP (-0.6 mmHg, P=0.419). Among women, both systolic and diastolic BP were higher in those who were pregnant (n=290, 0.5%, +5.8/+3.8 mmHg, P<0.0001). In conclusion, our study successfully reached a large proportion of participants who rarely measure BP, and found extremely low hypertension awareness, treatment and control rates.