Association of risk factors for high blood pressure across 46 low- and middle-income countries: A multi-country cross-sectional analysis.

Background: Despite acknowledging the influence of various lifestyle and metabolic risk factors on hypertension, it remains uncertain to identify the primary contributors and differentiate which modifiable risk factors mediate the causal effects of hypertension. We aimed to examine the hierarchical association of eight prominent lifestyle and metabolic risk factors, along with demographic variables, with hypertension in adults and to explore the mediating effects of modifiable metabolic risk factors on hypertension. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 46 low- and middle-income countries using the World Health Organization (WHO) STEPwise approach to noncommunicable disease risk factor surveillance from 2002 to 2020. In a sample of 179 535 non-pregnant adults, we assessed the weighted population-attributable risk percentages (PAR%) for hypertension associated with eight risk factors. Additionally, we investigated the mediating role of metabolic risk factors on the effects of lifestyle risk factors on hypertension. Results: After adjusting for the sample weight in each country, 26.7% of participants had hypertension. The prevalence of hypertension was highest in those aged ≥65 years, with obesity-associated hypertension (45.7%) exceeding the rates for overweight (32.2%) and non-overweight individuals (18.2%). These eight risk factors collectively explain 83.7% of the PAR% associated with hypertension adjusted for the communal variance. Among the modifiable factors, obesity contributed to a weighted PAR% of 38.2%, while sedentary behaviour and low physical activity combined accounted for a weighted PAR% of 3.1%. Overweight/obesity played a predominant mediating role in the correlation between lifestyle risk factors and systolic and diastolic blood pressure, with the indirect effect accounting for approximately 25-64% and 13-80% of the total effect, respectively. Conclusions: These findings offer new insights into the modified risk factors associated with hypertension in adults in low- and middle-income countries, highlighting the crucial role of maintaining a normal body weight for the effective prevention and management of hypertension.