HYPERTENSION AND RISK FACTOR TO MORTALITY IN CORONAVIRUS DISEASE (COVID-19)

Abstract

Objective: the aim of this study is to assess whether hypertension was considered a risk factor for mortality in in adult patients with COVID-19 hospitalized for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Design and method: Retrospective study with analysis of electronic medical records of adult patients admitted for mild and moderate COVID-19 and related acute respiratory distress syndrome in a single quaternary private hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Consecutive patients aged 18 years and older with COVID-19 confirmed by a positive reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing. ll data were collected in spreadsheets in Microsoft Excel version 365 (Microsoft Corp., Redmon – WA – USA) and the statistical analysis was performed using SAS Guide 4.3 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary – NV – USA). Results: Two hundred and two patients were were consecutively admitted for mild or moderate COVID-19 related ARDS and were included in this study. The mean age of the studied population was 69.1 ± 14.8 years. Of these, 130 patients (64.4%) were male. The mean BMI was 29.9 ± 6 kg/m2. Hypertension was present in 134 patients, corresponding to 67% of the studied population. 35.8% of patients had diabetes and 10.45% dyslipidemia. Among hypertensive patients, 58 (74%) died, with a relative risk of 1.45 (CI 0.96-2.2) Conclusions: The studies presented systemic arterial hypertension as the most common chronic disease in subjects diagnosed with covid-19. Hypertension is one of the main risk factors for adverse outcomes in subjects with covid-19. The results found in this study suggest that hypertension is associated with an increased risk of developing the severe form of covid-19, and increased mortality. Future studies should include the analysis of individual variables that may influence the outcome of systemic arterial hypertension subjects infected by SARS-CoV-2, such as genetic factors, race/ethnicity, occupation, lifestyle habits, in addition to the evaluation of educational level and diagnosis of the socioeconomic and environmental situation.