Hypertension and its associated risk factors in tuberculosis patients: A hospital based cross-sectional study

Tuberculosis (TB) is associated with a number of non-communicable diseases including hypertension. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of hypertension in TB patients and investigate its associated risk factors.

A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Qingdao, China (2011-2019). Data on demographics, medical history, and lifestyle were collected via questionnaire. Blood pressure was measured at admission. Logistic regression identified hypertension risk factors.

2159 TB patients were included in total in the final analysis. Among them, 485 (22.5%) were hypertensive. After adjusting for dietary sodium and potassium intake, marital status, retreatment, physical activity and smoking index, multivariate logistic regression showed that hemoglobin (HGB) ≥143 (OR, 95% CI: 1.74, 1.08~2.79) , age >35 (OR, 95% CI: 2.93, 1.87 ~ 4.59), male gender (OR, 95% CI: 1.77, 1.13~2.77), overweight or obesity (OR, 95% CI: 2.04, 1.42~2.93) , heavy drinking (OR, 95% CI: 1.76, 1.19~2.59) and concurrent DM (OR, 95% CI: 1.54, 1.09~2.17) were associated with increased risk of hypertension in TB patients, whereas high education level (OR, 95% CI: 0.47, 0.26~0.85) served as a protective factor.

Nearly 25% of TB patients have prevalent hypertension at admission. High HGB, being overweight or obese, heavy drinking, male gender and concurrent DM are associated with higher odds of hypertension in TB, while a higher education level serves as a protective factor. Our study provides important evidence for understanding the prevalence of hypertension in TB, underlying the double burden of TB and hypertension.