Table 3.

Newcastle-Ottawa Scale quality assessment of included studies

Study	Selection				Comparability	Outcome		Newcastle Ottawa Score Total
	Representativeness of the sample (true representation of target population)	Sample size (justified and satisfactory)	Non-participants (respondents vs. non respondents and response rate)	Ascertainment of the exposure (BP measurement method)	Comparability of groups on basis of design or analysis (study controls for important factors such as BP, age, gender, anti-hypertensive medication use)	Assessment of the outcome (PH as n/N and/or %)	The outcome is presented in full (no unexplained omissions from dataset)
Alli 1992 [34]	*	*	/	*	*	**	*	7
Assantachai 1998 [58]	*	*	/	*	**	**	*	8
Atli 2006 [35]	*	/	/	*	/	**	*	5
Bell 2016 ARIC [59]	*	*	*	*	**	**	*	9
Bell 2016 CHS [59]	*	*	*	*	**	**	*	9
Bengtsson Lindberg 2015 [36]	*	*	/	*	*	**	*	7
Bouhanick 2014 [25]	*	*	/	*	**	**	*	8
Cilia 2015 [60]	/	*	/	*	*	**	/	5
Clara 2007 [10]	*	*	/	*	/	*	*	5
Cohen 2015 [11]	*	*	/	*	/	**	*	6
Cremer 2017 [47]	*	*	/	*	**	**	*	8
Curreri 2016 [61]	*	*	/	**	**	**	*	9
Drozdz 2016 [48]	/	/	/	**	/	**	*	5
Enrique Asensio 2011 [23]	*	*	/	**	/	**	*	7
Ensrud 1992 [62]	/	*	/	*	**	**	*	7
Fan 2010 [63]	*	*	*	*	**	**	*	9
Fedorowski 2010 [64]	*	*	*	/	**	**	*	8
Fleg 2016 [26]	/	*	*	*	**	**	*	8
Foster-Dingley 2018 [49]	*	*	/	*	**	**	*	8
Frewen 2014 [65]	*	*	/	/	**	**	*	7
Gangavati 2011 [66]	*	*	/	**	*	**	*	8
Hiitola 2009 [50]	*	*	*	**	**	**	*	10
Hiorth 2019 [37]	*	*	*	*	*	**	*	8
Hirai 2009 [27]	*	*	*	**	**	**	*	10
Hommel 2016 [22]	*	/	/	**	**	**	*	8
Kamaruzzaman 2010 [38]	*	*	*	*	*	**	*	8
Kartheek 2011 [51]	/	/	/	*	/	**	*	4
Klanbut 2018 [28]	*	/	/	*	**	**	*	7
Kleipool 2019 [29]	*	*	/	*	**	**	*	8
Lampela 2013 [67]	*	*	/	*	*	**	/	6
Liepelt Scarfone 2015 [39]	*	*	/	*	**	**	*	8
Liu 2016 [40]	*	*	/	/	**	**	*	7
Luukinen 1999 [68]	*	*	*	**	**	**	*	10
Luukkonen 2017 [69]	*	*	*	*	**	**	*	9
Mader 1987 [70]	*	*	*	/	*	**	*	7
Masaki 1998 [71]	*	*	*	*	/	**	*	7
Masuo 1996 [41]	/	/	/	/	/	**	*	3
Mendez 2018 [52]	*	*	/	**	**	**	*	9
Merola 2016 [30]	/	*	/	*	*	**	*	6
Nguyen 2017 [53]	*	*	/	*	*	**	*	7
O’Connell 2015 [72]	*	*	/	/	**	**	*	7
Oishi 2016 [42]	/	/	/	*	**	**	*	6
Ong 2017 [73]	*	*	/	/	*	**	*	6
Perez Orcero 2016 [43]	/	*	/	/	**	**	*	6
Putnam 2018 [54]	*	*	*	**	*	**	*	9
Rockwood 2012 [55]	*	*	/	**	*	**	*	8
Romagnolo 2019 [31]	*	/	*	**	**	**	*	9
Shin 2004 [74]	*	*	*	*	**	**	*	9
Sonnesyn 2009 [32]	/	*	/	*	*	**	/	5
Valbusa 2012 [24]	*	*	/	*	**	**	*	8
Vanhanen 1996 [75]	*	*	/	*	*	**	*	7
Van Hateren 2012 [44]	*	*	/	*	**	**	*	8
Velilla Zancada 2017 [76]	*	*	/	*	**	**	*	8
Veronese 2014 [56]	*	*	*	**	**	**	*	10
Viramo 1999 [77]	*	*	/	*	*	**	/	6
Walczak 1991 [45]	/	/	/	*	/	**	*	4
Wecht 2016 [80]	/	*	/	**	**	**	*	8
Wolters 2016 [57]	*	*	*	*	**	**	*	9
Wu 2009 [78]	*	*	/	*	**	**	*	8
Yap 2008 [79]	*	*	*	**	**	**	*	10
Zhu 2016 [46]	/	*	*	*	*	**	*	7