Research design
DBP 80–89 mmHgStage, hypertension
HYPERTENSION, HYPERTENSION
A total of 1200 individuals were randomly selected from a large–scale cross-sectional study of Surveillance of Risk Factors of NCDs in Iran (STEPS 2016). The protocol of STEPS 2016 has been published previously [For accurate measurement of blood pressure (BP), the participant was asked to rest in a sitting position for five minutes. Then, BP was measured three times by qualified personnel using a Lumiscope professional aneroid sphygmomanometer with adult cuff and stethoscope. The average of the last two measurements was counted as the blood pressure reading. BP values were categorized according to the new ACC/AHA hypertension guidelines [Normal: systolic blood pressure (SBP) <120 and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) <80 mmHgPrehypertension: SBP 120–129 and DBP <80 mmHgStage 1 Hypertension: SBP 130–139 or DBP 80–89 mmHgStage 2 Hypertension: SBP ≥140 systolic or DBP ≥90 mmHg