Hypertension significantly more common in patients with multiple sclerosis

Hypertension is significantly more common in patients with multiple sclerosis compared to patients without multiple sclerosis, irrespective of sex and race, according to a recent study.

In this cross‐sectional study of 37 million unique electronic health records, the prevalence of hypertension in patients with multiple sclerosis (n = 122,660) and without multiple sclerosis (n = 37,075,350), were evaluated.

Hypertension prevalence was significantly greater among patients with multiple sclerosis than those without, across age, sex, and race subpopulations. The researchers concluded that hypertension was 25% more common in multiple sclerosis. In patients with and without multiple sclerosis, hypertension prevalence increased with age.

Reference

Briggs FBS. The prevalence of hypertension in multiple sclerosis based on 37 million electronic health records from the United States. E J Neuro. 2020; https://doi.org/10.1111/ene.14557.