Objective  To examine the prevalence of hypertension in Han people aged 20 – 80 living in Hebei province and to explore the association between ABO blood group and hypertension.

  Methods  A cross-sectional study was conducted in Hebei province from July to August 2017. The study sites were selected using multistage stratified cluster sampling. All participants underwent face-to-face questionnaire interview, physical examination and ABO blood group testing; the physical examination included blood pressure measurement and height-weight measurement. ABO blood group was tested by standard procedures. Using demographic data of Hebei province from the 2010 national census as the reference, the standardized prevalence was calculated with direct standardization method. Blood pressure values of different blood groups were compared by covariance analysis. Logistic regression models were used to analyze the association between ABO blood group and hypertension.

  Results  A total of 3 828 permanent Han residents aged 20 – 80 years were included in this study; of which, 1 616 (42.2%) were men and 2 212 (57.8%) were women. The crude prevalence of hypertension was 39.8%; the age- and gender-standardized prevalence of hypertension was 34.1% (male: 39.9%, female: 28.1%). The prevalence of hypertension was the highest (41.8%, 168/402) in the residents with blood group AB, followed by that in the residents with O (40.0%, 450/1 126), A (40.0%, 372/929), and B (39.0%, 535/1371). Covariance analysis revealed no significant difference in blood pressure values among the residents with different blood groups after adjusting for age, sex, living region (urban or rural), body mass index (BMI), education, smoking, alcohol drinking, physical activity, and family hypertension history (P > 0.05 for all). Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that there was no statistical significant association between ABO blood group and hypertension after adjusting for age, gender, living region, BMI, smoking, alcohol drinking, and family hypertension history.

  Conclusion  There are gender and urban-rural differences in the prevalence of hypertension but there is no observed association of ABO blood group with hypertension among adult Han people in Hebei province.