Abstract
Objective:
Climate change has emerged as a potential cardiovascular health risk factor. This study describes temporal and geographic patterns in temperature anomalies alongside global trends in hypertension prevalence, treatment, and control.
Methods:
We conducted a descriptive observational synthesis using temperature anomaly data from the National Centers for Environmental Information spanning 1850–2023 and global hypertension data from the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration. Temperature anomalies were analyzed at continental and global scales. Hypertension outcomes included prevalence, mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP), diagnosis rates, treatment rates, and control rates. Data were stratified by geographic region and sex to identify differential patterns.
Results:
Global temperature anomalies increased dramatically from predominantly negative values before 1980 to consistently positive values thereafter, reaching 1.43 °C by 2023. Regional warming was greatest in Asia (peak 1.73 °C in 2015), Europe (1.67 °C in 2015; peak 1.89 °C in 2007), and North America (1.34 °C in 2015; peak 1.67 °C, recorded in 1999, 2010, and 2012). During the same period in which temperature anomalies intensified, global hypertension management improved substantially. Women consistently had more favorable hypertension indicators across all measures, with raised BP prevalence declining from 26.1% to 20.1% (1975–2015), compared to men's decline from 29.5% to 24.1%. High-income regions, particularly Europe and North America, achieved significant improvements in hypertension outcomes. Conversely, many African countries showed concerning trends with rising hypertension prevalence coinciding with elevated temperatures and limited healthcare infrastructure.
Discussion and conclusion:
The observed population-level patterns linking climate change and hypertension are complex and appear strongly shaped by socioeconomic factors, healthcare infrastructure, and demographic characteristics. Despite intensifying temperature anomalies globally, observed population-level hypertension trends varied substantially across regions, with apparent improvements concentrated in higher-income settings with stronger healthcare infrastructure and persistent or rising prevalence in many lower-income settings. Whether, and to what extent, these contrasts reflect climate adaptation through healthcare and economic resources, rather than other concurrent drivers, cannot be determined from the descriptive design of the present study and warrants dedicated inferential investigation. Resource-constrained areas may face compounding risks from climate change and limited healthcare infrastructure. Sex-specific differences suggest that targeted interventions may be necessary to address differential vulnerabilities. Future climate-health adaptation strategies should prioritize healthcare infrastructure strengthening, particularly in vulnerable regions experiencing both significant warming and limited adaptive capacity.
Introduction
Climate change is increasingly recognized as an important determinant of cardiovascular health. Over the last three decades, global surface temperatures have risen by approximately 0.2 °C per decade, aligning with predictions from early climate models accounting for greenhouse gas emissions (). This accelerating temperature trend represents not merely a gradual shift in baseline conditions, but a fundamental transformation of the thermal environment experienced in daily life.
The rise in global temperatures has led to more frequent and severe extreme weather events, including heatwaves, heavy rainfall, and storms. The intensity, frequency, and duration of such events have undergone substantial changes in recent decades, as noted in a 2016 U.S. National Academy of Sciences report. For example, extreme daily temperatures have become more frequent and intense, alongside an overall rise in extreme precipitation events (Titley et al., 2016). In addition to changes in the duration, intensity, geographic extent, and seasonality of heat events, rapid transitions between anomalously warm and cold conditions, known as temperature flips, are increasing in both frequency and intensity while occurring over progressively shorter transition periods. As a result, the time available for physiological adaptation and public health response is substantially reduced; population exposure is projected to be 4–6 times higher in low-income countries than the global average (Wu et al., 2025). Furthermore, attribution studies offer compelling evidence of human influence on extreme temperature events relative to other types of extreme weather (Stott, 2016) establishing a clear causal link between anthropogenic activities and the observed climatic shifts. Temperature extremes can affect cardiovascular physiology and mortality. The rise in the frequency of extreme weather events underscores the growing impact of climate change on weather patterns, with important implications for ecosystems and human health. A systematic review of extreme weather events in Europe reported positive associations of extreme heat and cold events with increased overall, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality (Weilnhammer et al., 2021). Wildfires were linked to rises in overall and cardiovascular mortality; droughts, depending on their duration, were found to potentially impact respiratory and cardiovascular mortality (Weilnhammer et al., 2021). These findings highlight the need for high-quality research to characterize and reduce the health risks associated with these events, particularly as they relate to chronic conditions like hypertension that affect billions globally ().
Hypertension, or high blood pressure (BP), represents a complex cardiovascular condition whose etiology traditionally encompasses well-established risk factors such as poor diet, lack of physical activity, obesity, and genetics (World Health Organization, 2023). It is a major global health concern, with an increasing number of people affected, especially among aging populations and children and adolescents with lifestyle-related or developmental risk factors (). The traditional understanding of hypertension has focused primarily on these conventional risk factors, creating a comprehensive framework for prevention and treatment that has guided clinical practice for decades (Wang et al., 2017). However, the extent to which high BP may be related to climate-sensitive environmental exposures remains incompletely characterized. Growing evidence suggests that climate anomalies, particularly extreme temperatures, are associated with BP variability and may worsen hypertension control through multiple physiological pathways (). Studies have shown that colder temperatures are associated with hemodynamic changes, increased thrombogenicity, higher BP, and greater cardiovascular risk (). Similarly, variations in ambient temperature due to global warming and climate change may be associated with BP variability and hypertension prevalence, particularly in populations with high cardiovascular risk and the elderly, with notable associations documented in the Asia-Pacific region (). The physiological mechanisms underlying temperature-associated BP changes are complex and multifaceted. From a physiological regulatory perspective, during high ambient temperatures, the body must balance increased demands for blood flow to contracting muscles and the skin, while BP regulation is typically maintained in young, healthy individuals. However, prolonged heat exposure, compounded by additional stressors such as dehydration or simulated hemorrhage (), can significantly compromise BP regulation, potentially increasing hypertension risk in susceptible individuals. These mechanisms support biologic plausibility for temperature-related BP changes; however, the present population-level analysis cannot determine whether temperature anomalies independently cause changes in hypertension prevalence.
The global nature of both climate change and hypertension necessitates a comprehensive examination that accounts for regional variations, demographic differences, and socioeconomic status (). Different populations may experience varying degrees of vulnerability to temperature-associated BP changes. Understanding these complex interactions is crucial for developing targeted interventions and public health strategies that can effectively address the dual challenges of climate change and cardiovascular health (Ye et al., 2024b). Climate change represents a long-term phenomenon with both gradual trends and acute extreme events, while hypertension can manifest as both chronic elevation in BP and acute hypertensive episodes. The interaction between these different temporal scales adds complexity to understanding causality and developing appropriate response strategies.
In this study, we characterize long-term global and continental temperature-anomaly patterns, examine the trends in hypertension prevalence across different regions and demographic groups, and discuss the complex interactions between these factors. Additionally, we discuss strategies to reduce climate-related risks for hypertension, with particular attention to vulnerable populations and resource-constrained settings. Our approach integrates multiple data sources and analytical perspectives to provide a comprehensive understanding of how temperature anomalies may coincide with global hypertension patterns and what implications these have for public health policy and clinical practice.
Methods
Data sources
This study used a descriptive observational epidemiological design and drew on multiple publicly available datasets to investigate the parallel long-term patterns in temperature changes and hypertension prevalence across global populations. The methodological approach integrated environmental and health data spanning several decades to summarize both gradual climate trends and contemporaneous shifts in cardiovascular health outcomes. Climate data were obtained from NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), specifically the NOAA Merged Land–Ocean Surface Temperature Analysis, accessed via the Climate at a Glance Global Time Series tool []. Annual and monthly temperature anomalies are expressed relative to the 1901–2000 20th-century mean. Continental series were aggregated as area-weighted averages from the gridded product. We obtained values for 1850–2023 to provide a long-term baseline for understanding natural climate variability vs. anthropogenic climate change. Temperature anomalies, rather than absolute temperatures, were selected as the primary climate metric because they provide a standardized measure of deviation from historical norms that accounts for natural seasonal and geographic variations.
For hypertension and cardiovascular health data, this study utilized the global BP database from the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC), which represents the most extensive standardized collection of global population-level BP data (). This dataset includes trends in hypertension prevalence from 1990 to 2019, as well as country- and region-specific data spanning 1975 to 2015. The dataset provides detailed information regarding systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) levels across different populations, with data systematically broken down by age, sex, and geographic region to enable demographic and geographic analyses. The hypertension and BP data used in NCD-RisC are drawn from two key studies published in The Lancet, which analyzed global trends in hypertension prevalence, treatment, and control, as well as long-term shifts in BP levels (Zhou et al., 2021, 2017).
Analysis windows and measurements
Hypertension outcomes are drawn from two NCD-RisC products with different temporal coverage: BP-level outcomes are available 1975–2015 and the hypertension prevalence and care-cascade outcomes are available 1990–2019. We therefore pre-specified two corresponding analysis windows: (i) 1975–2015 for SBP, DBP, and prevalence of raised BP, and (ii) 1990–2019 for hypertension prevalence, diagnosis, treatment, and control. Climate exposure summaries were aligned to the matching outcome window for descriptive comparison.
As the exposure metric, we used the annual global and continental temperature anomaly, the standardized quantity reported by NOAA NCEI and used in the IPCC assessment reports and the source NCD-RisC publications. We retained this single, long-horizon metric to maintain comparability with the established climate-health literature and to span the full 1850–2023 record homogeneously. More granular exposure indices (e.g., warm-season mean, percentile-based heat days, heatwave duration, diurnal temperature range, and apparent temperature) are not consistently available across this long temporal horizon and are best applied within future inferential studies on shorter, finer-resolution windows.
Analytical approach and study design
The present study is a descriptive observational synthesis. We characterize long-term temporal and geographic patterns and report point estimates accompanied by their published uncertainty intervals. The primary analytical strategy involves temporal trend analysis, examining how both temperature anomalies and hypertension indicators have changed over the study period. This approach allows description of parallel trends, divergent patterns, and temporal co-occurrence between climate and health outcomes. Geographic stratification represents a crucial component of the analytical approach, with data analyzed at multiple geographic scales including global, continental, regional, and national levels. This multi-scale approach enables identification of geographic variations in both climate-related patterns and hypertension trends, while also allowing for examination of how different regions with varying climate exposures showed different trajectories in cardiovascular health outcomes. Temporal trend analyses were applied exclusively to the temperature anomaly series. A Pettitt change-point test was applied to the global annual temperature anomaly series (1850–2023) to identify the most probable single structural breakpoint in the distributional mean of the series. For the post-breakpoint period and for all six continental series (1975–2015), the Theil–Sen estimator quantified the median rate of temperature change in °C per decade. Mann–Kendall tests were applied to each continental series and to the post-1979 global series to assess the presence and direction of monotonic trend (Zhou et al., 2021, 2017). Hypertension trends are described using the published point estimates and 95% confidence intervals. Demographic stratification, particularly by sex, forms another key analytical dimension. The study incorporates multiple hypertension-related outcome measures to provide a comprehensive view of cardiovascular health trends. Primary outcomes include hypertension prevalence, mean SBP, mean DBP, and the prevalence of raised BP.
Ethics statement
This study used exclusively publicly available, aggregated, and de-identified population-level data. Institutional review board approval and informed consent were not required because no individual-level human participant data were accessed.
Results
Global temperature anomaly patterns and long-term trends
Global annual temperature anomalies underwent a regime shift around 1980, transitioning from predominantly negative anomalies (mean −0.18 °C, 1850–1924) to consistently positive and accelerating anomalies thereafter (Figure 1). A Pettitt change-point test confirmed a single dominant break in 1979 (p < 0.001), and a Theil–Sen slope of 0.20 °C per decade (95% CI: 0.18–0.22; Mann–Kendall p < 0.001) characterized the post-1979 trend, which is more than three times the long-run rate since 1850 (0.06 °C per decade). The transition shows increasing variability in temperature anomalies, with more frequent positive deviations beginning to emerge, signaling the onset of systematic global warming. The most dramatic changes occurred after 1980, marking a clear inflection point in global climate patterns.
Figure 1
Figure 2 shows detailed fluctuations in temperature anomalies over the observed period from 1975 to 2015, which corresponds to the period of available global hypertension data. Notably, temperature anomalies have consistently remained above 0 °C since 1980 and continue to increase, and reaching the highest recorded anomaly of 1.43 °C.
Figure 2
Regional temperature variations and continental patterns
Warming was pervasive across all six inhabited continents during 1975–2015, but the magnitude and timing differed substantially. Asia warmed fastest (Theil–Sen slope 0.39 °C/decade; MK p < 0.001), followed by Europe (0.36 °C/decade) and Africa (0.32 °C/decade), while Oceania showed the smallest decadal trend (0.18 °C/decade) and the most variable inter-annual signal (Figure 3). All six continental series passed the Mann–Kendall test for monotonic trend at p < 0.001.
Figure 3
Africa experienced substantial temperature increases, with anomalies ranged from −0.36 °C in 1976 to 1.38 °C in 2010, representing a total warming of approximately 1.74 °C over this period. This warming pattern showed interannual variability but an overall upward trajectory that accelerated particularly after 2000. Asia demonstrated the most dramatic temperature changes among all continents, experiencing its minimum temperature anomaly of −0.75 °C in 1977 and climbing to a maximum of 1.73 °C by 2015, representing a remarkable total warming of approximately 2.48 °C. The Asian pattern shows particularly steep warming after 1995, with temperature anomalies exceeding 1.0 °C consistently after 2000.
Europe exhibited greater variability in temperature patterns before 2000, with more pronounced year-to-year fluctuations compared to other continents, but culminated in its highest recorded anomaly of 1.89 °C in 2007. The European pattern shows two distinct phases: a more variable period from 1975 to 2000, followed by sustained high temperature anomalies after 2000. North America demonstrated a somewhat different pattern compared to other continents, showing more cyclical fluctuations rather than a continuous upward trend, with the highest recorded anomaly of 1.67 °C occurring in multiple years: 1999, 2010, and 2012.
South America displayed a steady but cyclical rise in temperature anomalies, reaching 1.42 °C in 2015, with patterns showing consistent warming but with notable variability around the overall trend. The South American warming pattern appears more gradual compared to Asia and Europe. Oceania's temperature trend was relatively stable compared to other continents during most of the study period, but significant changes occurred between 2012 and 2014, peaking at 1.27 °C.
Temporal heat map analysis of continental temperature anomalies
Figure 4 presents heat maps illustrating continental temperature anomalies at five decadal snapshots (1975, 1985, 1995, 2005, and 2015), spanning a 40-year window. In 1975, the global temperature anomaly patterns showed considerable regional variation, with temperatures in Africa, North America, and South America remaining below 0 °C, indicating cooler-than-average conditions relative to the 20th century baseline. By 1985, a decade later, the global pattern began to shift, though overall temperatures remained relatively close to the historical baseline. Temperature anomalies in Asia fell slightly to −0.02 °C and in Europe decreased further to −0.61 °C, while other regions showed mixed changes. However, the overall global temperature remained around 0 °C, with Oceania continuing to show the highest positive anomaly at 0.37 °C. This period represents a transition phase where different continents were experiencing divergent temperature trends. The period around 1995 marked a critical transition point, with marked intensification of temperature anomalies becoming evident across multiple continents. There was a particularly dramatic rise in Asia, reaching 1.22 °C, and in Europe, climbing to 0.62 °C, representing substantial warming compared to the previous decade. This period corresponds to the acceleration of global warming that became increasingly apparent in the 1990s and suggests that this decade represented a critical inflection point in global climate patterns.
Figure 4
In 2005, the warming trend continued and intensified, with the highest increases now observed in North America (0.72 °C) and Oceania (0.68 °C), indicating that the warming pattern was spreading to continents that had previously shown more modest temperature changes. This period demonstrates the global nature of climate change, with different regions experiencing peak warming at different times but consistent with an overall pattern of planetary warming. By 2015, temperature anomalies had reached high positive levels across virtually every continent except Oceania, with temperatures reaching 1.73 °C in Asia and 1.67 °C in Europe. These values represent substantial warming compared to historical baselines and highlight the rapid escalation of temperature anomalies over the 40-year study period. The consistency of high temperature anomalies across continents by 2015 underscores the global and pervasive nature of climate-related warming.
Global hypertension trends and sex-based differences
Women had consistently lower mean SBP and DBP than men across the full 1975–2015 window, alongside a larger relative decline in raised-BP prevalence (Figure 5). Women's age-standardized mean SBP decreased from 123.9 mmHg to 122.3 mmHg over the 40-year period, while men's rose modestly from 126.0 mmHg to 127.0 mmHg; raised-BP prevalence declined in both sexes (women: 26.1% to 20.1%; men: 29.5% to 24.1%). Similarly, women's DBP dropped from 77.1 mmHg to 76.7 mmHg, a decline of 0.4 mmHg. These trends indicate that women maintained lower BP levels than men and experienced gradual improvements in BP control over time. Men's DBP remained relatively stable at around 78.7 mmHg throughout the study period, showing minimal change.
Figure 5
Despite these differences in absolute BP levels, both sexes experienced significant improvements in raised BP prevalence, consistent with broader improvements in hypertension diagnosis, treatment, and health-system access. Women's raised BP prevalence decreased from 26.1% in 1975 to 20.1% in 2015, representing a substantial reduction of 6.0 percentage points. Men also experienced significant improvements, with raised BP prevalence declining from 29.5% to 24.1%, a reduction of 5.4 percentage points. These descriptive patterns show improved BP control in both sexes during a period of increasing temperature anomalies, although the present data cannot quantify the contributions of healthcare access, diagnosis, treatment effectiveness, or other secular changes.
Figure 6 presents comparative hypertension trends between sexes from 1990 to 2019. Hypertension prevalence patterns showed initially similar levels between sexes but divergent trajectories over time. In 1990, the prevalence of hypertension was nearly identical for both sexes, at approximately 32.5%. Both groups experienced similar upward trends through 2009, with prevalence peaking during this period, followed by a decline through 2019. However, the magnitude of these changes differed significantly between sexes. The increase in hypertension prevalence was more pronounced in men, with prevalence rising to 35.4% in 2009 before declining to 34.5% by 2019. This pattern is consistent with a greater male burden of hypertension during the 2000s, potentially related to differential exposure to risk factors or differences in physiological response to environmental and lifestyle changes. In contrast, women's hypertension prevalence peaked at a lower level of 33.0% in 2009 and decreased more substantially to 31.7% in 2019, actually falling below the 1990 baseline level. This pattern indicates that women not only experienced a smaller increase in hypertension prevalence during the 2000s but also achieved greater improvements in the subsequent decade.
Figure 6
Women consistently maintained hypertension diagnosis rates approximately 10% higher than men throughout the entire study period, consistent with greater healthcare engagement and access to diagnostic services. Women's diagnosis rates increased dramatically from 42.8% to 58.9%, representing a 16.1 percentage points improvement over the study period. Men also experienced substantial improvements, with diagnosis rates rising from 30.2% to 49.0%, but this 18.8 percentage points increase still left men with significantly lower diagnosis rates compared to women. Treatment rates followed patterns similar to diagnosis rates, with women consistently achieving higher treatment rates than men. Women's treatment rates grew from 26.2% to 47.1%, while men's treatment rates increased from 17.4% to 37.9%. Hypertension control rates, representing the most stringent measure of successful hypertension management, showed the most dramatic improvements. Women's control rates increased from 6.1% to 23.5%, representing a nearly four-fold improvement and a 17.4 percentage points increase. Men's control rates improved from 4.3% to 18.4%, representing more than a four-fold improvement and a 14.1 percentage points increase.
Global hypertension management outcomes over time
Figures 7–10 examine the evolution of global hypertension management across four critical dimensions—prevalence, diagnosis, treatment, and control—over the years 1990, 1999, 2009, and 2019, summarizing how different countries and regions have addressed hypertension management over three decades.
Figure 7
Figure 8
Figure 9
Figure 10
Figure 7 presents a complex pattern of changes that vary substantially across countries and regions. Globally, hypertension prevalence shows an overall improvement by 2019 compared with 1990, indicated by generally deeper coloring in the global maps, representing a decreasing proportion of people with hypertension in many countries. However, this global improvement masks important country-specific variations that highlight the heterogeneous nature of cardiovascular health trends worldwide. For example, Canada demonstrated substantial improvements, with prevalence declining from 32% in 1990 to 22% in 2019. In contrast, countries like China experienced more complex patterns, with prevalence starting at 20% in 1990, increasing through 1999 (26%) and 2009 (29%), before declining to 27% in 2019.
Figure 8 demonstrates that the proportion of diagnosed hypertension has risen globally, with approximately half of all global regions now reaching diagnosis rates of 50% or higher, representing a substantial improvement in hypertension diagnosis and healthcare access. Europe, North America, South America, and Oceania consistently demonstrate higher hypertension detection rates compared to other regions. Canada exemplifies these improvements, with diagnosis rates rising from 55% in 1990 to 77% in 2019, indicating that more than three-quarters of hypertensive individuals are now aware of their condition. However, diagnosis rates remain substantially lower in many African regions. Niger, for example, improved from 11% in 1990 to 26% in 2019, representing a more than doubling of diagnosis rates, though absolute levels remain below those achieved in high-income countries.
Figure 9 shows the steady improvements in hypertension treatment worldwide, with North America consistently demonstrating the best performance in providing treatment to hypertensive individuals. The proportion of treated hypertension among all hypertension cases has been steadily rising globally, indicating expanding access to antihypertensive medications and healthcare services. The estimated US treatment proportion was 72% in 2009. Asian countries such as Kazakhstan also demonstrated remarkable progress, with treatment rates rising dramatically from 37% in 1990 to 69% in 2019. However, the situation in many African countries continues to lag significantly behind other regions.
Figure 10 demonstrates that the proportion of controlled hypertension has significantly increased globally, particularly in North America, where rates approach or exceed 50%, representing achievements in cardiovascular health management. In 1990, hypertension control rates were universally low worldwide, with the United States achieving the highest rate at 25%, followed by Canada at 11% and Australia at 10%. By 2019, the global landscape had transformed dramatically. Canada achieved the highest global control rate at 60%. Europe also demonstrated strong performance, with countries like the United Kingdom achieving control rates of 29%. Oceania and South America showed substantial improvements, with countries like Brazil reaching control rates of 33%. However, persistent differences remain evident, with many African countries maintaining control rates around 10%, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo at 11%, while Asian countries showed modest improvements, with India achieving 14%. These patterns suggest that while substantial global progress has been achieved in hypertension control, significant differences persist between HICs and LMICs.
Global geographic patterns in blood pressure
Figures 11–13 illustrate global trends in mean DBP, mean SBP, and prevalence of raised BP at 10-year intervals between 1975 and 2015, revealing complex geographic patterns that provide important insights into regional variations in cardiovascular health trends and their potential relationship to climate-related warming.
Figure 11
Figure 12
Figure 13
The global patterns of DBP reveal regional variations and temporal trends. In 1975, European countries, particularly those in Eastern Europe, showed the highest DBP levels globally, with Estonia, Latvia, and the Russian Federation reaching the highest values of 85.57 mmHg, 84.99 mmHg, and 84.98 mmHg, respectively. Conversely, several countries in Oceania and Africa showed the lowest DBP values in 1975, with Papua New Guinea recording 69.71 mmHg, Solomon Islands 70.50 mmHg, and Kenya 70.57 mmHg. Over the subsequent decades, a clear pattern emerged of declining DBP levels across Europe, Asia, and North America, while Africa showed a concerning rising trend. By 1985, although Eastern Europe continued to show the highest mean DBP, levels had begun to decrease, with Lithuania recording 84.86 mmHg. The lowest values remained in similar geographic regions, with Papua New Guinea at 71.01 mmHg. In 1995, the United States became one of the countries with the lowest average DBP, recorded at 72.99 mmHg, consistent with substantial improvements in BP management in high-income countries (HICs). This pattern continued through 2005, with Lithuania still showing high DBP at 83.49 mmHg, while some African countries began showing gradual increases, such as Niger reaching 80.95 mmHg. By 2015, the global DBP landscape had transformed significantly, with mean DBP levels in Eastern Europe converging toward levels observed in Africa, while the lowest levels were recorded in Peru (71.20 mmHg) and several high-income countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, the United States, and Singapore.
SBP patterns showed similar but distinct geographic trends compared to DBP. There were consistent downward trends in Europe, North America, and Oceania, while South America remained relatively stable, and both Africa and Asia showed upward trends. In 1975, the highest average SBP was recorded in Oceania (136.46 mmHg for Nauru) and Europe (136.23 mmHg for Malta and 135.03 mmHg for Norway), while the lowest levels were noted in Asia (116.75 mmHg for Bangladesh and 117.23 mmHg for Cambodia). The period from 1985 to 1995 maintained similar geographic patterns, with Asia continuing to demonstrate the lowest SBP levels. However, by 1995, the United States achieved the lowest SBP globally at 119.45 mmHg, while both Europe and Africa maintained relatively high levels, suggesting divergent trends between high-income and other countries. By 2005, many African countries experienced notable increases in SBP, while European regions generally observed decreases, with Niger recording the highest level at 134.43 mmHg. This period coincided with a clear divergence in SBP trends between different economic regions, with HICs achieving continued improvements while some low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) experienced rising BP levels. The 2015 global SBP landscape demonstrated the culmination of these divergent trends, with the lowest SBP levels found in South Korea (114.38 mmHg) and Canada (114.82 mmHg).
Discussion
This study describes several important patterns that inform hypotheses about potential climate-health relationships. The temporal patterns present an apparent paradox: while global temperature anomalies have increased dramatically and consistently since 1980, reaching unprecedented levels by 2015, global hypertension prevalence has not worsened proportionally, and in many regions has actually improved. This observation suggests that climate-related physiological stressors may coexist with, and be difficult to distinguish from, improvements in healthcare systems, increased diagnosis, better treatment options, and lifestyle modifications in many populations. Regional analysis describes patterns that may inform future investigation of climate-health relationships. Regions experiencing the most dramatic temperature increases, such as Asia and Europe, have shown divergent hypertension trends. Europe, despite experiencing substantial warming, has achieved significant improvements in BP control and hypertension management. Asia has shown more mixed patterns, with some countries achieving improvements while others have experienced increasing hypertension prevalence. The consistent sex differences observed in hypertension trends, with women achieving better outcomes across all measures of hypertension management, may be relevant to understanding climate-health vulnerabilities. These patterns suggest that biological, behavioral, and social factors that contribute to sex differences in cardiovascular health may also shape vulnerability to climate-related health risks (). The strong association between regional economic development and hypertension outcomes suggests that socioeconomic factors may be among the primary determinants of population-level cardiovascular health trends, potentially complicating interpretation of direct climate effects in many populations (). HICs have generally achieved improvements in hypertension management despite experiencing substantial climate change, while LMICs have shown more mixed patterns that may reflect both climate-related vulnerability and limited adaptive capacity. Several countries in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly low-income settings such as Niger, Somalia, and Chad, have experienced substantial temperature increases alongside high and in some cases rising hypertension prevalence. We caution that within-continent heterogeneity in Africa is substantial, across income groups, urbanization levels, demographic structures, and health-system capacity, and that aggregate statements may mask important country-level divergence (Ye et al., 2022a). The combination of rising temperatures, limited healthcare resources, and increasing hypertension prevalence in many African countries suggests that climate-related cardiovascular vulnerability may be greatest in regions with limited adaptive capacity and constrained healthcare systems.
This study provides several key insights into the climate-health literature. First, population-level climate-health associations may differ substantially from individual-level physiological responses, underscoring the need for multilevel frameworks. Second, socioeconomic conditions and healthcare system capacity appear to be important contextual modifiers that shape population vulnerability to climate-related health risks. Third, the marked regional heterogeneity observed suggests that climate-health relationships are highly context dependent and require region-specific assessments. Finally, the temporal patterns indicate that these relationships may evolve as populations and healthcare systems adapt to a changing climate.
Climate-hypertension paradox: understanding divergent regional trends
Despite accelerating global temperature anomalies—with the post-1979 warming rate (0.20 °C per decade) more than tripling the long-run rate since 1850 [0.06 °C per decade; ]—global hypertension prevalence has not uniformly worsened. These findings argue against simplistic assumptions about climate-health relationships and underscore the complex interplay between environmental stressors and socioeconomic determinants of health. The regions experiencing the most severe warming, Asia with a peak of 1.73 °C in 2015 and Europe with peaks of 1.89 °C in 2007 and 1.67 °C in 2015, nonetheless showed improving hypertension outcomes, whereas some regions with more moderate temperature increases showed less favorable hypertension trends. This divergence is consistent with the possibility that healthcare infrastructure and economic resources may reduce climate-related health vulnerability (). The temporal analysis reveals that the period of most rapid temperature increases (1980–2015) coincided with diverging hypertension trajectories between high-income and low-income regions. While global mean temperature anomalies consistently exceeded historical baselines after 1980, hypertension control rates in countries like Canada improved from 11% to 60% during this same period. This temporal disconnect underscores the need to evaluate healthcare system capacity when interpreting population-level climate-health patterns.
Temperature anomalies and cardiovascular physiology: mechanisms and regional variations
Plausible physiological pathways relating temperature anomalies to hypertension may operate through multiple mechanisms that vary by regional climate patterns and population vulnerability. In regions experiencing rapid warming, such as Africa (temperature anomaly increase from −0.36 °C to 1.38 °C between 1976 and 2010), heat stress may trigger a cascade of cardiovascular responses. Prolonged exposure to elevated temperatures can induce peripheral vasodilation initially, followed by compensatory increases in cardiac output and eventual sympathetic nervous system activation. Sustained sympathetic stimulation may lead to persistent vasoconstriction, increased sodium retention, and elevated baseline BP. Our descriptive finding of persistently high hypertension prevalence in several African countries is consistent with the possibility that physiological stressors coexist with broader social, demographic, and health-system drivers.
Both extreme cold and extreme heat have been linked to distinct pathophysiological mechanisms for BP change in the existing literature. Cold-associated BP elevation occurs primarily through vasoconstriction and sympathetic activation, while heat-related BP changes may involve dehydration, electrolyte imbalances, and compensatory hemodynamic shifts. Eastern European countries such as Lithuania, which showed persistently high DBP in our data (83.49 mmHg in 2005 despite overall European improvements), represent patterns that are consistent with cold-season BP physiology but could equally reflect dietary patterns, healthcare access gaps, or demographic factors. Our ecological data cannot partition these contributions. Similarly, the cyclical North American temperature anomaly profile (peaks in 1999, 2010, and 2012) is an observation about inter-annual climate variability.
Risk factor interactions with climate change
Age is the most significant non-modifiable hypertension risk factor, with particular relevance to climate vulnerability. BP and hypertension prevalence increase progressively with age regardless of sex, but elderly populations face compounded risks from temperature extremes (). While younger men typically have higher BP, women experience more pronounced age-related increases, surpassing men in both average BP and hypertension prevalence by age 60 (). This age-related vulnerability may make older adults particularly susceptible to temperature-associated BP fluctuations.
High sodium intake also impacts hypertension, with global consumption substantially exceeding the recommended 2,300 mg daily limit. Climate change may exacerbate this risk through multiple mechanisms: increased sweating in hot climates leads to compensatory increases in salt consumption, while heat stress impairs renal sodium excretion. The DASH-Sodium trials demonstrated strong positive associations between sodium intake and BP, with reducing sodium from high to intermediate levels lowering SBP by 2–4 mmHg, and further reductions yielding greater decreases (). Low potassium intake elevates BP, with concerning regional variations. Potassium intake varies significantly, with lower levels in Asia and Africa vs. Europe and South America (). Climate-related disruptions may threaten potassium-rich food production, particularly fruits and vegetables sensitive to temperature extremes and altered precipitation patterns. Clinical trials demonstrate that increased potassium intake significantly reduces SBP and DBP (), particularly among high-sodium consumers. The protective effects of potassium become even more critical during heat stress, as potassium losses through perspiration can reach 200–400 mg per hour during extreme heat exposure. Potassium supplementation through fruits and vegetables is strongly recommended (Whelton, 2002), though climate-related agricultural disruptions may limit access in vulnerable regions.
Excessive alcohol intake establishes dose-dependent relationships with hypertension through central nervous system effects, kidney function alterations, and sympathetic nervous system activation. Climate stress may increase alcohol consumption as a maladaptive coping mechanism, particularly during extreme weather events that disrupt normal routines. The American Heart Association recommends limiting intake to one drink daily for women and two for men []. Additionally, alcohol impairs thermoregulation and exacerbates dehydration during heat waves, which may amplify its hypertensive effects.
Obesity accounts for 65%−78% of primary hypertension cases (), with climate change potentially creating bidirectional pressures on this risk factor. Mechanisms include sympathetic nervous system overactivation, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system stimulation, insulin resistance, and adipose tissue and renal function changes. Excess abdominal fat increases vascular resistance, requiring increased cardiac workload. Rising temperatures may reduce physical activity levels, particularly in regions lacking climate-controlled exercise facilities, potentially worsening obesity rates. Conversely, heat stress increases metabolic demands and may reduce appetite. Weight loss remains primary treatment, though non-pharmacological approaches often prove insufficient. Metabolic surgery demonstrates effectiveness for substantial, sustained weight loss and BP reduction, though access remains limited in regions most affected by climate change.
Geographical and environmental determinants
Temperature fluctuations and extreme weather may influence BP regulation through complex, region-specific mechanisms (). Our descriptive analysis is consistent with concern that rising temperatures may worsen hypertension risk through heat stress, dehydration, and increased sympathetic nervous system activity, although the magnitude and direction of these patterns likely vary by regional infrastructure and adaptation capacity. Prolonged high-temperature exposure may cause initial vasodilation followed by compensatory vasoconstriction and increased heart rate, ultimately elevating BP. Extreme weather events may limit physical activity opportunities and worsen cardiovascular health through multiple pathways including air quality deterioration, disrupted medication access, and psychological stress. Cold weather can raise BP through immediate vasoconstriction, increasing peripheral resistance and cardiac strain, effects particularly pronounced in regions with inadequate heating infrastructure.
Africa's predicted temperature increases of 2 °C−6 °C over the next century and 1.5 °C−3 °C by 2050 may represent unprecedented challenges for cardiovascular health (). Combined with increased rainfall variability, flooding, and drought, these changes could intensify environmental stressors that coincide with rising hypertension prevalence. Our data showing African countries maintaining the highest global hypertension prevalence by 2015 (Niger 33%, Somalia 32%, and Chad 32%) may reflect the combination of environmental pressure and limited adaptive capacity. The continent's young population structure may partially obscure these pressures, but rapid urbanization and lifestyle transitions threaten to accelerate hypertension emergence. Asia faces similar challenges with elevated temperatures and extreme weather events, though greater economic resources in countries like South Korea (achieving the lowest global SBP of 114.38 mmHg by 2015) are consistent with the potential for successful adaptation.
Implementation of national adaptation strategies in Europe and North America represents a proactive approach to addressing climate change health impacts, including temperature extremes (). These strategies integrate health surveillance, early warning systems, and infrastructure modifications that may help protect populations from temperature stress. Public awareness campaigns and infrastructure improvements help mitigate cold-induced hypertension spikes during winter months while cooling centers address summer heat waves. The potential value of these interventions is consistent with our data showing continued BP improvements despite significant temperature anomalies (Europe reaching 1.89 °C in 2007, North America 1.67 °C multiple years).
Population density, urbanization, and heat island effect
Higher temperature anomalies appear to cluster in some densely populated regions, particularly in Asia, Europe, and North America, raising concern for compound environmental health risks. Our finding that some densely populated regions experienced high temperature anomalies is consistent with local amplification of heat exposure through urban heat island effects. The World Health Organization reports 4.2 million annual deaths from outdoor air pollution, with Central/Southern Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa particularly affected (). Dense urban areas often generate higher emissions of PM2.5, NO2, and O3 (), triggering oxidative stress, systemic inflammation, and vascular dysfunction that elevate BP independently of temperature effects. The urban heat island phenomenon creates temperature differentials of 2 °C−5 °C between city centers and surrounding areas, with nighttime differences reaching 12 °C in extreme cases. This may reduce nocturnal BP dipping, a critical recovery period for cardiovascular health. Our data showing Asia's temperature anomaly reaching 1.73 °C by 2015, the highest globally, coincides with the region's rapid urbanization and population concentration. Cities like Delhi, Beijing, and Jakarta experience compound stressors of ambient temperature rise, local heat generation, and air pollution, potentially creating hypertension “hot spots.”
Urban design may modulate these associations. Cities with extensive green infrastructure have been associated with reduced heat island intensity and may support better cardiovascular risk environments. The contrast between well-planned cities in HICs and rapidly growing urban areas in LMICs may help contextualize the paradoxical improvement in hypertension control despite rising temperatures in developed nations. Addressing emissions through cleaner energy transitions, improved public transportation systems, and stricter industrial regulations becomes crucial for breaking the urbanization-temperature-hypertension nexus. Studies demonstrate that comprehensive emissions fees can reduce SO2 by up to 70%, NOX by 30%, PM2.5 by 45%, and CO2 by 36% by 2045 (). Expanding urban green spaces may also provide dual benefits of heat island mitigation and air quality improvement, although direct effects on hypertension prevalence require dedicated evaluation ().
Economic resources and climate-health resilience
High-income regions including Europe and North America show declining SBP and DBP with reduced hypertension prevalence, achieving the highest global rates of diagnosis (up to 77% in Canada), treatment (72% in the United States), and control (60% in Canada by 2019). These achievements occur despite experiencing some of the highest temperature anomalies globally. LMICs, particularly in Africa, experience increasing prevalence with rising BP levels and persistently low diagnosis rates (26% in Niger by 2019 despite improvements). The economic burden of hypertension in these settings may create a reinforcing cycle: climate stress may increase disease burden, while household and health-system resource constraints may reduce capacity for both climate adaptation and disease management (Ye et al., 2022b). Low-income countries account for only 0.4% of global health spending despite comprising 10% of the global population (), limiting their ability to implement climate-resilient healthcare infrastructure.
Economic resources shape multiple aspects of climate-health resilience. HICs often benefit from climate-controlled healthcare facilities ensuring medication stability and patient comfort, robust supply chains maintaining drug availability during extreme weather, comprehensive insurance systems covering preventive care, and public health surveillance enabling rapid response to climate-related health threats. The technology gap may further amplify differences: telemedicine and digital health tools that maintain care continuity during extreme weather events remain largely unavailable in LMICs (Ye et al., 2023a; ; ). Global estimates showing only 45.6% of hypertensive individuals aware of their condition and just 36.9% receiving treatment are consistent with these structural inequalities more than individual behaviors (). The May Measurement Month 2017 program screened 1.2 million people across 80 countries and found that 34.9% had hypertension, 17.3% were untreated, and 46.3% of treated individuals had uncontrolled BP (). These results demonstrate both the massive unmet need and the potential for targeted screening interventions. Mobile health technologies could bridge access gaps in underserved areas, though their effectiveness depends on broader infrastructure including electricity, internet connectivity, and health system integration, which may themselves be vulnerable to climate disruption (Ye et al., 2025b).
Sex differences in climate-hypertension relationships
Women's consistently better hypertension outcomes across all regions and time periods in our analysis—with prevalence of 31.7% vs. 34.5% in men by 2019—may reflect complex interactions between biological protection and behavioral factors that may shape climate-health vulnerability differently by sex. Potential biological advantages associated with estrogen include enhanced vasodilation through nitric oxide pathways, reduced angiotensin II sensitivity, and improved sodium excretion, which may be particularly relevant during heat stress. Estrogen's thermoregulatory benefits include earlier sweating onset, improved heat dissipation, and better maintenance of plasma volume during dehydration (). These protective effects diminish post-menopause, potentially contributing to age-related convergence in hypertension prevalence between sexes and raising the hypothesis that postmenopausal women may be particularly vulnerable to climate-related hypertension risks.
Behavioral and social factors may create additional sex-specific climate vulnerabilities. In many settings, men engage more frequently in outdoor occupational activities with direct heat exposure, show higher rates of alcohol consumption that impairs thermoregulation, and demonstrate lower healthcare-seeking behaviors which may delay diagnosis of climate-exacerbated hypertension (). Women's higher treatment coverage (47.1% treatment rate vs. 37.9% in men by 2019) may reflect both better healthcare engagement and social roles that prioritize health maintenance. However, women in many LMICs face unique climate vulnerabilities including responsibility for water collection during droughts, exposure to indoor air pollution from cooking with solid fuels, and limited mobility during extreme weather events due to cultural constraints. Sex-specific physiological responses to temperature stress suggest the value of tailored interventions (Wickham et al., 2021). Men show greater increases in core body temperature during heat exposure but less efficient heat dissipation mechanisms. Women's lower baseline metabolic rates provide advantages during heat waves but increase vulnerability during cold spells. These differences suggest that climate adaptation strategies should consider sex-specific vulnerabilities: workplace heat protection focusing on male-dominated outdoor industries, community cooling centers accessible to women with mobility constraints, and sex-specific public health messaging about climate-related cardiovascular risks (Zhang et al., 2025).
Implications for climate-resilient healthcare systems
Our descriptive findings suggest that healthcare system capacity may reduce climate-related vulnerability relevant to hypertension, with implications for health system planning in an era of accelerating climate change. The success of HICs in maintaining or improving hypertension control may provide a roadmap for climate-resilient healthcare development. Essential components include infrastructure hardening (climate-proofing healthcare facilities, ensuring medication cold chains, backup power systems for extreme weather), adaptive clinical protocols (seasonal adjustment of antihypertensive regimens, heat wave response protocols, and integration of climate forecasts into clinical decision-making), and community resilience programs (cooling centers, medication stockpiling programs, and community health worker training on climate health risks) (Ye et al., 2022c). The integration of climate considerations into hypertension management may require fundamental shifts in clinical practice. BP medications may require dose adjustments based on seasonal temperature variations, as ACE inhibitors and diuretics show altered pharmacokinetics during heat stress. Timing of medication administration may need modification to account for circadian BP changes altered by nighttime heat. Patient education could expand beyond traditional risk factors to include climate adaptation strategies, hydration management during heat waves, and recognition of temperature-related BP fluctuations.
Policy implications and recommendations
Our findings are consistent with calls for integrated policy approaches treating climate change and hypertension as interconnected challenges. The persistent divergence between HIC and LMIC outcomes observed in our data, with HICs achieving diagnosis rates up to 77% and control rates up to 60% despite substantial warming, while many African countries maintained diagnosis rates below 30% alongside rising temperatures, underscores that healthcare system strengthening may be among the most actionable levers for reducing the compounding burden of climate change and hypertension in resource-limited settings (Ye et al., 2023b). National adaptation plans should explicitly incorporate healthcare infrastructure as a climate-resilience asset (Ye et al., 2026a).
The paradoxical improvement in hypertension control in regions with high temperature anomalies but strong healthcare systems suggests that climate-health risks may be modifiable (). However, this would require proactive investment in healthcare infrastructure, particularly in vulnerable regions where climate-related risks coincide with limited adaptive capacity. The need for action is increasing as climate change accelerates and population aging increases vulnerability. Coordinated global action addressing both climate mitigation and health system strengthening may be a promising path forward for managing the dual challenges of climate change and hypertension in the 21st century.
Limitations
This study has several limitations. First, our study relies on publicly available datasets, and the data collection methods and quality vary substantially across countries and time periods, potentially affecting the comparability of hypertension trends across different settings. The ecological study design cannot evaluate causal relationships between temperature anomalies and hypertension trends, as numerous confounding factors operate at population levels. Second, the focus on broad regional patterns overlooks important within-region variations that could provide deeper insights into climate-hypertension relationships. Rural vs. urban differences in both temperature exposure and healthcare access create distinct vulnerability profiles not captured in our analysis. Third, while this study describes co-occurring patterns across temperature trends, economic development, and hypertension outcomes, it does not measure the relative contributions of different factors or explore causal mechanisms. We cannot determine what proportion of hypertension improvement results from healthcare advances vs. other factors like improved nutrition or reduced smoking rates. The role of genetic factors, migration patterns, and changing population structures in regional hypertension trends remains unexplored.
Future research
Future research should address these limitations through multi-level analyses incorporating granular data to evaluate localized climate-hypertension relationships. High-resolution spatial analysis combining satellite temperature data, air quality measurements, and geocoded health records could identify hypertension “hot spots” and vulnerable populations. Annual temperature anomalies are coarse exposure proxies that cannot capture the sub-annual timing of acute exposures, the duration and intensity of heatwaves and cold spells, the role of humidity (apparent temperature), or the diurnal temperature range—all of which are increasingly recognized as physiologically relevant. Future inferential work on climate–hypertension relationships should employ such richer exposure metrics on shorter, higher-resolution windows where they are consistently available. Longitudinal cohort studies tracking individuals through temperature extremes could establish temporal relationships between exposure and BP changes (; ; ). Natural experiment designs exploiting policy changes or infrastructure improvements could help identify effective interventions (). Machine learning algorithms could identify non-linear relationships and interaction effects between climate variables and hypertension risk factors (Wang et al., 2025). Causal inference methods including instrumental variables and regression discontinuity designs could strengthen evaluation of climate-related effects (; Ye and Song, 2026). Integrated assessment models linking climate projections, population health models, and economic analyses could inform long-term planning (Ye et al., 2025a; Van Beek et al., 2020).
Our population-level analysis cannot directly attribute sex differences in hypertension trajectories to climate exposure, biology, or social factors, because each is plausible and our country-year data do not separate them (). In particular, sex-specific occupational heat exposure, which is not directly observable in the country-level dataset, may be an important confounder: men in many countries spend more working hours outdoors and have greater direct exposure to peak temperatures, which could confound cross-sectional comparisons of climate effects between women and men. Formal testing of whether the climate–hypertension association differs by sex is best undertaken in dedicated inferential studies with sub-annual exposure data, individual-level covariates including menopausal status and occupation, and explicit interaction terms; it is a priority for future research.
The development of climate-specific hypertension risk prediction models represents a critical research priority (; ). These models should incorporate real-time temperature data, air quality indices, individual vulnerability factors (age, sex, comorbidities), and local healthcare capacity to provide individualized risk assessments (; Ye, 2026; Ye et al., 2026b). Validation across diverse populations and climatic conditions could enhance global applicability (Zhang and Ye, 2025; Urban et al., 2024). Integration with clinical decision support systems could enable more proactive management of climate-related hypertension risks (Ye and Bronstein, 2025). Research on intervention effectiveness should evaluate both mitigation and adaptation strategies (). Studies should assess associations of urban greening initiatives with local temperature and hypertension prevalence, effectiveness of early warning systems in preventing temperature-related BP crises, optimal design of climate-resilient healthcare facilities, and cost-effectiveness of different adaptation strategies in resource-limited settings (). Community-based participatory research could identify culturally appropriate and locally feasible interventions (Ye et al., 2024a).
Mechanistic research should elucidate biological pathways through which climate exposures may influence hypertension development (). Priority areas include epigenetic modifications associated with chronic heat stress, interactions between air pollution and temperature in vascular dysfunction, role of climate-induced sleep disruption in BP regulation, and relationship between climate stress and the gut microbiome and its cardiovascular effects (). Understanding these mechanisms could identify novel therapeutic targets and preventive strategies.
Conclusion
This study shows that despite intensifying global temperature anomalies, hypertension prevalence has not universally worsened, with some regions showing improvement. Some densely populated regions with pronounced temperature anomalies showed declining hypertension prevalence, a pattern that may reflect stronger healthcare infrastructure, higher income levels, and other concurrent secular changes. Conversely, Africa faces persistent high prevalence amid rising temperatures and limited healthcare resources. In the global sex-stratified estimates, women had lower BP and more favorable diagnosis, treatment, and control indicators than men. These findings underscore that while climate change poses significant challenges, socioeconomic factors, particularly healthcare infrastructure and economic resources, appear to be important determinants of hypertension outcomes. Responding to the dual burden of climate change and hypertension requires comprehensive strategies addressing climate-related environmental risks while strengthening healthcare systems, particularly in resource-limited settings. Targeted interventions accounting for regional, environmental, and demographic factors are essential for global hypertension control in an era of accelerating climate change.
Statements
Data availability statement
The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author/s.
Ethics statement
This study used exclusively publicly available, aggregated, and de-identified population-level data. Institutional review board approval and informed consent were not required because no individual-level human participant data were accessed.
Author contributions
JY: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. HC: Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. MA: Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing.
Funding
The author(s) declared that financial support was not received for this work and/or its publication.
Conflict of interest
The author(s) declared that this work was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Generative AI statement
The author(s) declared that Generative AI was not used in the creation of this manuscript.
Any alternative text (alt text) provided alongside figures in this article has been generated by Frontiers with the support of artificial intelligence and reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, including review by the authors wherever possible.
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Summary
Keywords
blood pressure, climate change, global health, healthcare access, hypertension, public health interventions, temperature anomalies
Citation
Ye J, Chen H and Abu Hashish M (2026) Climate change and hypertension: global trends, temporal patterns, and regional insights. Front. Clim. 8:1703142. doi: 10.3389/fclim.2026.1703142
Received
10 September 2025
Revised
22 July 2026
Accepted
27 July 2026
Published
19 August 2026
Volume
8 - 2026
Edited by
Ata Murat Kaynar, University of Pittsburgh, United States
Reviewed by
Zaiyong Zheng, Southwest Medical University, China
Helena Vasconcelos, University of the Azores, Portugal
Updates
Copyright
© 2026 Ye, Chen and Abu Hashish.
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) and the copyright owner(s) 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: Jiancheng Ye, jiancheng.ye@u.northwestern.edu
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.