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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Aging and Public Health
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1489284
This article is part of the Research Topic Exploring the Interaction between Health-promoting and Health Risk Behaviors in Health, Volume II View all 19 articles

Influence of Hypertension Diagnosis and Subjective Life Expectancy on Health Behaviors among Middle-aged and Older Chinese Adults

Provisionally accepted
Xiaoxiao Liu Xiaoxiao Liu 1Xiaoyi Ji Xiaoyi Ji 1Honghong Xia Honghong Xia 1Yuxin Tian Yuxin Tian 1Weihong Zheng Weihong Zheng 1Linyun Fu Linyun Fu 2Peiyuan Qiu Peiyuan Qiu 1*Yang Wan Yang Wan 1
  • 1 Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
  • 2 The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    OBJECTIVES: Hypertension can lead to significant health complications if left unmanaged due to unhealthy behaviors. This study investigates hypertension related health behaviors of middle-aged and older Chinese adults, investigating whether a hypertension diagnosis and individuals' subjective life expectancy (SLE) might prompt positive changes in their health behaviors. METHODS: The participants in this study were Chinese adults aged 45 years and older, selected from the 2013-2020 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. Linear mixed-effects models were employed to investigate the influence of receiving a hypertension diagnosis, as well as SLE, on hypertension related behaviors. RESULTS: Among the respondents, 27.65% reported doctor-diagnosed hypertension, while 19.91% of those who were undiagnosed with hypertension had measured hypertension at baseline. Of those diagnosed with hypertension, only 46.97% in 2013 had their blood pressure within the normal range in 2013, and this slightly improved to 47.80% in 2015. Both receiving a hypertension diagnosis (OR=1.50, 95% CI: 1.46-1.53) and having a low-SLE (OR=1.06, 95% CI: 1.03-1.09) were associated with healthier behavior. Interestingly, individuals with measured hypertension exhibited the highest SLE but the lowest health behavior scores. DISCUSSION: Although individuals diagnosed with hypertension are able to recognize the dangers of the condition and take proactive steps to improve their health, high blood pressure remains uncontrolled in almost half of them. Those with measured hypertension often lack awareness of hypertension and unhealthier behaviors.Therefore, there is a critical need to enhance hypertension awareness and promote healthier behaviors among both diagnosed individuals with uncontrolled blood pressure and those unaware of their hypertension.

    Keywords: Hypertension awareness, Health behavior modification, Subjective survival expectations, China, subjective life expectancy (SLE)

    Received: 31 Aug 2024; Accepted: 13 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Liu, Ji, Xia, Tian, Zheng, Fu, Qiu and Wan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Peiyuan Qiu, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.