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

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: 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.

METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: 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.

RESULTS: 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.

CONCLUSIONS: 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.