High-Blood Pressure Around The World Affects 1.13 Billion People According Latest Study

A new study has been released revealing 1.13 billion people around the world are living with high blood pressure. Led by the Imperial College London, the World Health Organization and hundreds of other scientists worldwide was also involved in covering blood pressure measurements of around 20 million people.

Findings showed the number of people living with high blood pressure has almost doubled in 40 years from 1975 to 2015, Imperial College London reported. Changes relating to blood pressure in each and every country was part of the study scope.

Study author Professor Majid Ezzati said, "High blood pressure is no longer related to affluence - as it was in 1975 - but is now a major health issue linked with poverty."

In high-income countries, blood pressure records dropped, but a rise was measured in middle-income countries, particularly in Africa and South Asia. Among the European countries, 2015 records tell that U.K. had the lowest proportion of people with this condition, while U.S.A., Canada, and South Korea were lucky enough to be the lowest in the world.

CNN reported that one of the risk factors in low-income countries could be undernourishment during childhood leading to rising of blood pressure when they age. Other factors also included high-level intake of salt and potassium, environment exposure to lead and pollution, and lack of treatment options and diagnosis.

The research team believes that the situations have worsened due to the lack of will and attention of the global health community to make it a priority. Ezzati said that strategies and solutions to resolve this problem should include improving people's access to fresh fruits and vegetables and carrying out awareness to fund projects to address the threat in nutrition.

"The perception is that people are not getting enough calories, but the reality is, they're not getting healthy calories. Making fresh, healthy food affordable and accessible for everybody should be a priority," said Ezzati.