Hypertension and Asthma: A Comorbid Relationship

Background: An increased prevalence of hypertension has been described in adult asthmatic patients. However, there is no information regarding the interaction of hypertension as a comorbidity with asthma severity.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate whether a concomitant diagnosis of hypertension had any impact on markers of asthma severity in adult asthmatic patients.

Methods: A total of 117,922 asthmatic subjects 18 years or older were identified in the Kaiser Permanente database. Case-control studies were conducted with cases defined by short-acting β-agonist canister dispensing greater than 6 (SABA > 6), history of emergency department visits or hospitalizations (EDHO), and corticosteroid dispensings (CCS), respectively. Controls were matched by age and sex. Univariate and multivariate conditional logistic regression was applied to estimate the odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for SABA > 6, EDHO, and CCS associated with the diagnosis of hypertension.

Results: Hypertension was associated with an increased odds of SABA > 6 (OR 1.19, CI 1.13-1.26, n = 15,855 cases and 76,060 controls), EDHO (OR 1.11, CI 1.03-1.19, n = 9,307 cases and 46,535 controls), and CCS (OR 1.15, CI 1.10-1.19, n = 53,690 cases and 53,690 controls) after adjusting for potential confounders.

Conclusions: Asthmatic subjects with comorbid hypertension display evidence of enhanced of asthma morbidity.