Abstract: Objective To explore the application of propensity score matching （PSM） in the correlation between physical activity and hypertension, and to analyze the correlation between physical activity and hypertension in Chinese plateau population, so as to provide scientific basis for primordial prevention of hypertension. Methods The data of Tibetan （an altitude of 3 500 m） in Tibet and Han （an altitude of 2 000 m） in Lijiang were selected from the National Key R & D Program “Southwest Regional Natural Population Cohort”. The nearest neighbor matching method of PSM was used for 1∶1 matching and balance test was conducted afterwards to analyze the correlation between physical activity and hypertension. In order to perform the robustness analysis, set different caliper values and used the inverse probability weighting method, and the multivariate Logistic regression analysis method was used to analyze the difference of hypertension detection rate under different physical activity in people before matching. Results After PSM, a total of 8 724 participants were included, and the success rate of matching was 60.3%. The only factor with SMD > 0.1 was smoking status, and the results after adjusting showed that adequate physical activity was a protective factor of hypertension （OR=0.87, 95% CI： 0.79-0.96）. Adjusting the caliper value to 0.1, family income and alcohol drinking status didn’t reach balance, and the results after adjusting showed that adequate physical activity was a protective factor of hypertension （OR=0.89, 95% CI： 0.80-0.98）. Adjusting the caliper value to 0.2, education level, body mass index （BMI）, passive smoking and family history of hypertension didn’t reach balance, and the results after adjusting showed that adequate physical activity was a protective factor of hypertension （OR=0.83, 95% CI： 0.75-0.92）. After using the inverse probability weighting method, all the covariates were in equilibrium （SMD < 0.1）, the results supported that adequate physical activity was a protective factor of hypertension （OR=0.88, 95% CI： 0.83-0.93）. After adjusting for other factors, performed Logistic regression analysis on the study population before matching, the results showed that adequate physical activity was a protective factor of hypertension （OR=0.88, 95% CI： 0.81-0.96）. Conclusion Adequate physical activity is a protective factor of hypertension for Chinese plateau population. It is suggested that people in plateau area should keep adequate physical activity.

Key words: Plateau population, Physical activity, Hypertension, Propensity score matching