Patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have a high incidence of prevalent and incident hypertension, according to a study published online in the August issue of Rheumatology: Advances in Practice.

Brook Hadwen, from the University of Western Ontario in London, Canada, and colleagues used data from the Canadian Early Arthritis Cohort to explore the prevalence and incidence of hypertension and baseline factors associated with incident hypertension in early RA (2,052 patients).

The researchers found that the prevalence of hypertension at study enrollment was 26% (23% in women and 34% in men). Prevalent hypertension was associated with older age, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia in both sexes. In women, hypertension was associated with being overweight or with high alcohol consumption.

One quarter (24%) of the RA patients did not have hypertension at enrollment but developed hypertension during the median follow-up period of five years. Incident hypertension was significantly associated with the baseline factors of older age, being overweight, excess alcohol consumption, and having hyperlipidemia. There were no significant associations between RA-associated disease factors and treatments with prevalent or incident hypertension.

“Weight loss and lifestyle modifications such as changes in diet, exercise, and limiting alcohol intake may reduce the risk of high blood pressure and prevent heart disease,” the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.