Objective To analyze the prevalence of five risk factors of ischemic heart disease ( IHD) in China, so as to provide basis for formulating prevention and control policies and measures of IHD and further epidemiological study.

Methods We searched literature published from January 1, 2019 to August 30, 2023 on the prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, smoking, obesity and overweight among adults in China in PubMed, Web of Science and China National Knowledge Infrastructure , and selected and included large-scale cross-sectional surveys, population cohort or community screening studies covering the whole country or multiple provinces, from which. information such as title, author, publication year, research design and prevalence rate of risk factors were extracted. And we used the software R 4.1.2 to analyze the prevalence of various risk factors in the elderly population by meta-analysis.

Results A total of 26 articles were included in this study. The results showed that the overall prevalence of hypertension showed an increasing trend, and more than half of Chinese adults (50.90%) had a high normal blood pressure (systolic blood pressure was between 120 and 139 mmHg, and diastolic blood pressure was between 80 and 89 mmHg). There are more than 400 million people with diabetes and prediabetes in China, among which the number of elderly people with diabetes (35.5 million) ranks first in the world. The serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol of adults in China increased from 2.78 mmol/L in 2010 to 2.87 mmol/L in 2015, and the prevalence of dyslipidemia increased from 34.70% in 2012–2015 to 35.60% in 2018. The smoking rate of the general population in China decreased from 27.50% in 2013 to 25.10% in 2018, but the smoking rate in men remains high, at around 50.00%. Nearly half of adults (48.90%) in China are overweight or obese, and the peak age of overweight and obesity in men (50–54 years old, 35–39 years old) is younger than that in women (65–69 years old,70–74 years old). Meta-analysis shows that the prevalence of risk factors of IHD in the Chinese elderly population is more severe, and hypertension is the most prevalent risk factor (the prevalence rate of hypertension in meta-analysis is 60.58%, 95%CI: 54.91%–66.25%).

Conclusion Since 2010, the prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia and overweight or obesity among Chinese residents is still on the rise. Although the overall smoking rate has decreased, the proportion of male smokers is still high. Active preventive measures should be taken to reduce major risk factors to reduce the burden of IHD.