Prevalence and factors associated with hypertension among people living with HIV/AIDS on antiretroviral therapy in Uganda

Introduction: antiretroviral therapy (ART) has improved survival of People Living with HIV (PLWH); however, this has resulted in an increasingly high prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCD) like hypertension. Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular and cerebral vascular disease, which are both associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. We studied the prevalence and factors associated with hypertension among PLWH on ART. Methods: we conducted a retrospective data analysis of PLWH on ART enrolled between 2011 and 2014 into a randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled trial investigating the safety of discontinuing cotrimoxazole prophylaxis (COSTOP) among PLWH in Central Uganda. We used the mean blood pressure (BP) measurements of the first four monthly clinic visits to define hypertension. Patients were categorised as: having normal BP (<= 120/80mmHg), elevated BP (systolic >120-129, and diastolic <= 80), Stage 1 hypertension (systolic 130-139, or diastolic >80-89) and Stage 2 hypertension (systolic >= 140 or diastolic >= 90). Multiple logistic regression was used to evaluate factors associated with hypertension. Results: data from 2026 COSTOP trial study participants were analysed, 74.1% were women and 77.2% were aged 35 years and above. The overall prevalence of hypertension was 29%, of whom 19.5% had Stage 1 hypertension and 9.5% had Stage 2 hypertension. About 21.4% were overweight or obese. Factors independently associated with hypertension among PLWH on ART included increasing age (p=0.001) and high body mass index (p=0.001). Efavirenz (p=0.001) and lopinavir/ritonavir (p=0.036) based regimen had lower odds of hypertension than Nevirapine based regimens. Conclusion: PLWH on ART have a high prevalence of hypertension, which rises with increasing age and body mass index (BMI) and among those on nevirapine-based ART. Implementation of hypertension prevention measures among PLWH on ART and integration of NCD and HIV care to improve patients' management outcomes are required.