Socioeconomic Macro-Level Determinants of Hypertension: Ecological Analysis of 138 Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Aim: To assess the relative importance of major socioeconomic determinants of population health on the burden of hypertension in Low-and-Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). Methods: Country-level data from 138 countries based on World Development Indicators 2020 were used for correlation and linear regression analyses of eight socioeconomic predictors of hypertension: current health expenditure, domestic general government health expenditure per capita, GDP per capita, adult literacy rate, unemployment rate, urban population, multidimensional poverty index, and total population. Results: The median prevalence of age-standardised hypertension was 25.8% across the 138 countries, ranging from 13.7% in Peru to 33.4% in Niger. For every 10% increase in the unemployment rate, the prevalence of hypertension increased by 2.70%. For every 10% increase in the percentage of people living in urban areas, hypertension was reduced by 0.63%. Conclusions: The findings revealed that countries with high GDP, more investment in health and an improved multidimensional poverty index have a lower prevalence of hypertension.