SYDNEY, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- A new study led by Australian researchers has found that women in China have greater awareness, treatment and control of hypertension than their male counterparts.

The George Institute for Global Health in collaboration with the University of Oxford analyzed 57 studies, comprising over two million individuals, to find that women were 7 percent more aware of hypertension than men, 6 percent more likely to be using medication and 3 percent more likely to be effectively controlling their blood pressure levels.

"High blood pressure is a huge problem all over the world," Principal Director of the George Institute for Global Health, Robyn Norton, told Xinhua on Thursday.

"And one of the things the George Health of Institute has been at the forefront of promoting globally is the need for disaggregated data to identify if we see differences between men and women, because if there are differences it allows us to target and manage interventions that might be more relevant," the director said.

According to researchers, the general trend seen in China is strikingly similar to other high-income countries around the world.

But while it is not entirely clear why women have better awareness, treatment and control of hypertension than men, the director believed it is almost certainly not genetic.

"It isn't a biological difference," she said.

"The general view in high-income countries where we see this pattern emerging is that in general women seem to have greater interactions with primary healthcare providers and so they're more likely to be talking to healthcare providers about their health and therefore more likely to be tested and treated," the director said.

With more precise data, identifying the differences in how men and women respond to conditions like hypertension, Norton explained it may be able to help the medical community reach people more effectively.