HypertensionMeta-analysis
Prevalence, Awareness, and Treatment of Hypertension in 37 African Countries
- Pooled analysis of individual-level survey data (cross-sectional)
- 61 national, subnational or community surveys
- age-standardized
- hierarchical logistic regression
Authors' conclusion
Despite improvement in hypertension awareness, the burden of untreated and uncontrolled hypertension in adults remains substantial in the AFRO with notable sex disparities.
Study context
- Population
- Adults in 37 World Health Organization (WHO) African Region countries, surveys 2003–202259.5% female
- Participants
- 251,761 adults
- Comparison
- Females vs males
- Outcome
- Hypertension prevalence, awareness, treatment and control
Pooled result
As reported in the abstract
Hypertension prevalence, awareness, treatment and control (age-standardized)
| Group | Prevalence | Awareness (among hypertensive) | Treatment | Control |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Females | 28.9% (95% CI: 27.6%-30.2%) | 62.4% (95% CI: 58.5%-66.3%) | 15.0% (95% CI: 13.1%-16.9%) | 7.3% (95% CI: 5.8%-8.8%) |
| Males | 26.1% (95% CI: 24.5%-27.7%) | 50.5% (95% CI: 44.5%-56.4%) | 8.4% (95% CI: 6.7%-10.2%) | 3.7% (95% CI: 2.4%-4.9%) |
Further pooled results
Time trends 2003–2022
- Hypertension cases (millions)
- 241 to 390
- Treatment rate
- 11.8% to 18.4%
- Control rate
- 7.6% to 9.2%
Determinants (multivariable hierarchical analysis)
- Prevalence and awareness associated with older age, higher BMI, retirement, former smoking (females only), higher education (awareness only), higher alcohol consumption (awareness in males only)
- Lower odds of treatment and control with current smoking and high alcohol consumption
- Outcomes also influenced by country-level factors (life expectancy, Gender Development Index, fat intake, GDP per capita, agricultural employment, urbanization)
Original publication
Prevalence, Awareness, and Treatment of Hypertension in 37 African Countries. J Am Coll Cardiol. Published 9 December 2025. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2025.09.1600
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it