Risk factors for prevalent and incident hypertension in rheumatoid arthritis: data from the Canadian Early Arthritis Cohort

Abstract

Abstract Objective Hypertension (HTN) is a common comorbidity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This study aimed to explore the prevalence and incidence of HTN, and baseline factors associated with incident HTN in early RA (ERA). Methods Data was from the Canadian Early Arthritis Cohort (CATCH), an inception cohort of ERA patients having < 1 year of disease duration. HTN was determined by patient- or physician-reported diagnosis, the use of anti-hypertensives and/or by blood pressure. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to determine baseline factors associated with prevalent and incident HTN in this population. Results The study sample included 2052 ERA patients (mean age of 55 (SD14) and 71% females). The prevalence of HTN at study enrolment was 26% (23% in females and 34% in males). In both sexes, prevalent HTN was associated with older age, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia. HTN was associated with being overweight or high alcohol consumption in females. Of the RA patients who did not have HTN at enrolment, 24% (364/1518) developed HTN during the median follow-up period of 5 (range 1–8) years. Baseline factors significantly associated with incident HTN were older age, being overweight, excess alcohol consumption and having hyperlipidemia. Incident HTN was associated with high alcohol consumption in males, and with hyperlipidemia in females. RA-associated disease factors and treatments were not significantly associated with prevalent or incident HTN. Conclusions Early RA patients had a high incidence of hypertension with the highest risk in older patients with traditional cardiovascular risk factors.