Study: Hypertensives have 22% higher risk of developing 'severe' COVID-19

Hypertension increases the likelihood of developing severe forms of COVID-19 by an average of 22%, and the risk doubles for people with particularly high blood pressure. The findings of European scientists were published in the journal PLoS One.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus more often affects people with diabetes, obesity, and chronic heart disease. Scientists suggest that being overweight, problems with sugar metabolism, and disorders of the circulatory system alter immune function. This makes the body more prone to developing inflammation and spontaneous blood clots in the blood vessels.

Scientists analyzed data collected as part of the UK Biobank project. This project involved several hundred thousand British volunteers who agreed to share their DNA and undergo a comprehensive medical examination, as well as continuously monitored by doctors over the years. Approximately 16,000 UK Biobank participants contracted the coronavirus.

The analysis showed that hypertensive people were about 2.3 times more likely to have severe COVID-19, but this was mostly because high blood pressure was common in older people, diabetics and people with other chronic illnesses. When the researchers accounted for all the side factors, they found that all forms of hypertension increased the average risk of developing severe forms of COVID-19 by about 22%.

In addition, the researchers tracked how vascular pressure levels affected the likelihood of developing complications from the coronavirus. Their calculations showed that patients with systolic blood pressures of 150-180 mm Hg, as well as volunteers with even higher pressures, were about 91% and 93% more likely to develop severe forms of COVID-19.

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