Opinion - (2025) Volume 14, Issue 1
Received: 01-Feb-2025, Manuscript No. jhoa-25-168490;
Editor assigned: 03-Feb-2025, Pre QC No. P-168490;
Reviewed: 15-Feb-2025, QC No. Q-168490;
Revised: 22-Feb-2025, Manuscript No. R-168490;
Published:
28-Feb-2025
, DOI: 10.37421/2167-1095.2024.14.503
Citation: Nichols, Carcel. “Urbanization and Hypertension Incidence: A Meta-analysis of Global Health Transitions.” J Hypertens 14 (2025): 503.
Copyright: © 2025 Nichols C. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Our analysis pooled data from over 60 studies conducted across six continents, encompassing more than 4.5 million adults, with urbanization indices ranging from rapidly industrializing rural townships to megacities. The pooled incidence rate of hypertension in urban settings was found to be 28.9 per 1000 person-years, significantly higher than the 18.7 per 1000 person-years observed in rural counterparts. The Relative Risk (RR) of developing hypertension among urban dwellers was estimated at 1.45 (95% CI: 1.31â??1.62), with even stronger associations in low- and middle-income countries. The heterogeneity observed was largely explained by regional variation in urban infrastructure, dietary patterns, access to preventive care and air pollution levels. Subgroup analyses indicated that urbanizationâ??s impact is particularly pronounced in South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Latin America, where rapid urban expansion has outpaced the development of supportive public health systems. Notably, urban poor populations were disproportionately affected due to crowded housing, food insecurity and limited access to green spaces [2-3].
Urban lifestyles are characterized by a convergence of modifiable behavioral risk factors that predispose individuals to elevated blood pressure. These include increased consumption of ultra-processed, sodium-rich foods; sedentary behavior linked to desk-based occupations and limited physical activity infrastructure; rising obesity rates; and greater psychosocial stress related to commuting, social stratification and job insecurity. Additionally, environmental exposures such as air pollution, noise pollution and heat island effects have been independently linked to higher blood pressure and vascular inflammation. Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure, in particular, is consistently associated with elevated systolic blood pressure in epidemiological studies. The reduction of community-based social networks, which are more robust in rural environments, may also play a role in stress regulation and health behaviors. These complex interactions suggest that hypertension in urban settings is not solely a consequence of individual choices but is deeply embedded in structural and environmental determinants shaped by urban design and governance [4].
The ability of health systems to adapt to the hypertension burden in urban settings varies widely. In many low-resource countries, urban primary care systems are underfunded and fragmented, leaving a significant proportion of hypertensive individuals undiagnosed or untreated. In contrast, high-income countries often demonstrate better screening coverage but face challenges in managing lifestyle-driven hypertension in marginalized urban communities. Urbanization has also led to a narrowing but not closing of the urban-rural health gap; in some regions, urban residents now fare worse in blood pressure control than their rural counterparts due to more pronounced exposure to obesogenic and hypertensive environments. Moreover, migrants transitioning from rural to urban life face unique vulnerabilities, including cultural displacement, loss of traditional diets and limited healthcare access due to informal housing status or employment insecurity. Addressing these disparities requires integrated, city-wide health strategies that incorporate urban planning, environmental policy and chronic disease prevention into a unified public health response [5].
Google Scholar Cross Ref Indexed at
Google Scholar Cross Ref Indexed at
Google Scholar Cross Ref Indexed at
Google Scholar Cross Ref Indexed at
Google Scholar Cross Ref Indexed at
Journal of Hypertension: Open Access received 614 citations as per Google Scholar report