Table 1. Source, year, sample size and methodological aspects of the 40 studies included in meta-analysis (in alphabetical order of first author).

First author	Source or database	Year of data collection	N	Age criterion for study entry (years)	City, State, or region	Devices used and hypertension assessment method	BP cut-off value for hypertension (SBP/DBP in mm Hg)
Costa VG	LILACS	1982	1200	18–80	Uberlândia	Device not described	160/95
de Lolio CA	PubMed & LILACS	1987	1199	15–74	Araraquara	Aneroid	140/90 & 160/95
Martins IS	Embase, LILACS, PubMed & Scielo	1987	1041	≥20	Cotia	Mercury & SRH	140/90 & 160/95
Ayres JE	PuMed	1988	1944	≥15	Piracicaba	Device not described	160/95
Fuchs FD	Embase, PubMed & LILACS	1989	1091	≥18	Porto Alegre	Aneroid, BPLM & SRH	140/90 & 160/95
Bloch KV	Embase, PubMed & LILACS	1991	1268	≥20	Rio de Janeiro city	Mercury & BPLM	160/95
Piccini RX	Embase, LILACS, PubMed &Scielo	1992	1657	20–69	Pelotas	Aneroid, BPLM & SRH	160/95
Trindade IS	Embase, LILACS, PubMed & Scielo	1995	206	≥18	Passo Fundo	Aneroid, BPLM & SRH	160/95
Fuchs SC‡	Embase, PubMed & LILACS	1996	1174	≥18	Porto Alegre	Aneroid & SRH	140/90
Barreto SM	Embase, LILACS, PubMed & Scielo	1997	820	18–59	Bambuí	Mercury & SRH	140/90
de Oliveira RZ	Embase & LILACS	1998	411	20–69	Cianorte	Mercury, BPLM & SRH	140/90 & 160/95
Freitas OC	Embase, LILACS, PubMed & Scielo	1998	688	≥18	Catanduva	Aneroid	140/90
da Costa JSD	LILACS & CAPES-TD	1999	1968	20–69	Pelotas	Aneroid & BPLM	160/95
Gus I	LILACS & Scielo	1999	1063	≥20	Rio Grande do Sul (state)	No description & SRH	140/90 & 160/95
Lessa I	Embase, LILACS, PubMed & Scielo	1999	1439	≥20	Salvador	Oscillometric & BPLM	140/90
First author	Source or database	Year of data collection	N	Age criterion for study entry (years)	City, State, or region	Devices used and hypertension assessment method	BP cut-off value for hypertension (SBP/DBP in mm Hg)
Mill JG	Article references & CAPES-TD	1999	1656	25–64	Vitória	Mercury & BPLM	140/90
Gimeno SGA	Embase	2000	201	≥20	Alto Xingu	Aneroid & Mercury	140/90
de Souza LJ	LILACS	2001	1039	≥18	Campos dos Goytacazes	Aneroid &, BPLM SRH	140/90
INCA**	Article reference	2002	17059	≥25	18 Capitals	SRH	Not applicable
Jardim PCBV	Embase, LILACS, PubMed & Scielo	2002	1739	≥18	Goiânia	Oscillometric & BPLM	140/90
Barbosa JB	Embase, LILACS, PubMed & Scielo	2003	835	≥18	São Luís	Aneroid & BPLM	140/90
Capilheira MF	LILACS	2003	3100	≥20	Pelotas	SRH	Not applicable
Cassanelli T	CAPES-TD	2003	1699	18–74	Cuiabá	Device not described & BPLM	140/90
de Souza JJG	LILACS & CAPES-TD	2003	1667	≥20	São Paulo city	SRH	Not applicable
Hartmann M	PubMed, LILACS, Scielo & CAPES-TD	2003	1020	20–60	São Leopoldo	Aneroid & BPLM	140/90
Matos AC	LILACS	2003	126	≥19	Cavunge	Aneroid & BPLM	140/90
Monteiro CA*	Article references	2003	2122	≥18	São Paulo city	SRH	Not applicable
Carvalhaes MABL*	LILACS	2004	1410	≥18	Botucatu	SRH	Not applicable
Cesarino CB	LILACS & Scielo	2004	1717	≥18	São José do Rio Preto	Device not described & BPLM	140/90
de Castro RA	Embase, LILACS, PubMed & Scielo	2004	285	≥18	Formiga	Oscillometric	140/90
First author	Source or database	Year of data collection	N	Age criterion for study entry (years)	City, State, or region	Devices used and hypertension assessment method	BP cut-off value for hypertension (SBP/DBP in mm Hg)
Borges HP*	Embase, LILACS & Scielo	2005	2352	≥18	Belém	SRH	Not applicable
Fuchs SC†	Article reference	2005	1007	≥18	Porto Alegre	Oscillometric, BPLM & SRH	140/90
Peixoto MRG*	LILACS	2005	2002	≥18	Goiânia	SRH	Not applicable
SOFT study	Directly from the author	2005	1858	18–90	Porto Alegre	Oscillometric & BPLM	140/90
Ferreira SRHG*	Pubmed	2006	54369	≥18	Brasília & state capitals	SRH	Not applicable
Nunes Filho JR	LILACS	2006	353	20–59	Luzerna	Aneroid, BPLM & SRH	140/90
Rosário TM	LILACS, Scielo & CAPES-TD	2006	1003	18–90	Nobres	Oscillometric	140/90
Braga Junior FD	CAPES-TD	2007	1298	20–59	Cuiabá	Device not described	140/90
Chrestani MAD	LILACS, Scielo & CAPES-TD	2007	2910	≥20	Pelotas	Wrist Oscillometric, BPLM & SRH	140/90
Longo GZ	Scielo	2007	2022	20–59	Lages	Oscillometric & BPLM	140/90