Objective: This study collected on from all research relating to health education and hypertension in China and, with the aid of meta-analysis tools, assessed the outcomes of such health education. The analysis provides a basis for the further development of health-education programmes for patients with hypertension.

Methods: Literature searches were carried out to identify studies that had evaluated the impact of health education on hypertension in China. The time interval searched was from 1 January 1991 to 31 December 2010. We searched the databases of PubMed, CBM, CNKI and VIP. Strict inclusion and exclusion criteria were used to screen the literature. We generated meta-analyses, using Cochrane RevMan 5.0 software, of outcomes of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP).

Results: Fourteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Results show that, after health education for patients with hypertension, SBP and DBP is substantially lowered; the effect was statistically significant (P < 0.001). We extended subgroup analyses of the separate effects on SBP and DBP with respect to follow-up time, intervention site, intervention method and age.

Conclusion: This review confirms that health education plays an important role in blood pressure control in hypertensive patients (especially the elderly): short-term follow-up intervention was more effective, and the effects were similar whether intervention was at the hospital or at the community level.