Do Obese Individuals With Hypertension Have More Difficult-to-Control Blood Pressure and End Organ Damage Than Their Nonobese Counterparts?

Long-Term Protective Effects and Mechanisms of Gastric Bypass Surgery on the Kidneys in Hypertensive Obese Rat

OBJECTIVE

Investigate the long-term protective effects of gastric bypass surgery on the kidneys of hypertensive obese rats to better understand the role of gastric bypass surgery in preventing renal injury in humans with hypertension and obesity.

METHODS

Compare 6-week-old spontaneously hypertensive rats, including 30 Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and 30 sham operations. Body weight and blood pressure were monitored before and up to 12 months after the operation. Blood lipids, blood creatinine, and blood urea nitrogen were measured. Kidney pathology was assessed using HE staining, while renal fibrosis was observed via Masson staining. Inflammatory indicators were examined by ELISA. The expression of the NLRP3 gene in the kidney was measured using immunofluorescence and western blot, and the changes in key pathways including ASC/IL-1β protein were verified.

RESULTS

RYGB reduced the body weight of hypertensive obese rats and had a protective effect on blood pressure. Additionally, the bypass effectively mitigated renal inflammation and fibrosis. Moreover, RYGB modulated the expression of NLRP3 and prevented kidney damage via the ASC/IL-1 pathway.

CONCLUSION

This study validates that RYGB effectively attains sustained blood pressure control in hypertensive obese rats and has a potential kidney-protective mechanism via the NLRP3-ASC/IL-1β pathway.

Uncontrolled blood pressure and associated factors in adult hypertensive patients undergoing follow-up at public health facility ambulatory clinics in Bishoftu town, Ethiopia: a multi-center study

BACKGROUND

Uncontrolled blood pressure is an important medical and public health problem in developing countries like Ethiopia. Improving the management of hypertension requires a better comprehension of the factors influencing blood pressure control and the application of interventions. But in clinical practice, blood pressure is still not adequately controlled. Thus, this study aimed to assess uncontrolled blood pressure and associated among adult hypertensive patients on follow-up at public health facility ambulatory clinics in Bishoftu, Ethiopia.

METHODS

A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 398 adult hypertensive patients who were on treatment and follow-up from April to May 31, 2022. Systematic random sampling was used to select study participants. Data were collected using an interviewer-administered, semi-structured questionnaire and chart review. The Eighth Joint National Committee (JNC 8) criteria was applied to define blood pressure control status. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to model the association between dependent and independent variables. An adjusted odds ratio and 95% confidence interval were used to measure the strength of the association. Finally, at a p-value < 0.05, statistical significance was proclaimed.

RESULT

Of the total study participants, 249(62.6%) were male. The mean age was 62.26 ± 11.55 years. The overall proportion of uncontrolled blood pressure was 58.8% (95% CI: 54-64). Salt intake (AOR = 2.51; 95% CI: 1.49-4.24), lack of physical activity (AOR = 1.40; 95% CI: 1.10-2.62), habitual coffee consumption (AOR = 4.52; 95% CI: 2.67-7.64), higher BMI (AOR = 2.08; 95% CI: 1.24-3.49), and non-adherence to antihypertensive medications (AOR = 2.31; 95% CI: 1.3-3.89) were independent predictors of uncontrolled blood pressure.

CONCLUSION

More than half of the hypertensive patients in this study had uncontrolled blood pressure. Healthcare providers and other accountable stakeholders should urge patients to follow salt restriction, physical activity, and antihypertensive medication regimes. Reduced coffee consumption and weight maintenance are other crucial blood pressure control measures.

Blood Pressure Control and Other Quality of Care Metrics for Patients with Obesity and Diabetes: A Population-Based Cohort Study

INTRODUCTION

There are no population-level estimates in the United States for achievement of blood pressure goals in patients with diabetes and hypertension by obesity weight class.

AIM

We sought to examine the relationship between the extent of obesity and the achievement of guideline-recommended blood pressure goals and other quality of care metrics among patients with diabetes.

METHODS

We conducted an observational population-based cohort study of electronic health data of three large health systems from 2010-2012 in rural, urban and suburban settings of 51,229 adults with diabetes. Outcomes were achievement of diabetes quality of care metrics: blood pressure, A1c, and LDL control, and A1c and LDL testing. Two blood pressure goals were examined given the recommendation for adults with diabetes of 130/80 mmHg from JNC7 and the recommendation of 140/90 mmHg from JNC8 in 2014.

RESULTS

Patients in obesity classes I, II, and III with diagnosed hypertension were less likely to achieve blood pressure control at both the 140/90 mmHg and 130/80 mmHg control levels. The patients from obesity class III had the lowest likelihood of achieving control at the 130/80 mmHg goal, and control was markedly worse for the 130/80 mmHg threshold in all weight classes. There were minimal to no differences by weight class in LDL and A1c control and LDL and A1c testing.

CONCLUSIONS

Although the cardiovascular risk for patients with obesity and diabetes is greater than for non-obese patients with diabetes, we found that patients with obesity are even further behind in achieving blood pressure control.

Blood pressure control status and associated factors among adult hypertensive patients on outpatient follow-up at University of Gondar Referral Hospital, northwest Ethiopia: a retrospective follow-up study

Background

Large segments of the hypertensive population in the world are either untreated or inadequately treated. The incidence of heart failure and mortality from cardiovascular complications of hypertension is high among patients with uncontrolled blood pressure (BP). But BP control status of hypertensive patients has not been investigated in the study area. The study aimed to assess BP control status and determinant factors among adult hypertensive patients on antihypertensive medication attending outpatient follow-up at University of Gondar Referral Hospital, northwest Ethiopia.

Methods

An institution-based retrospective follow-up study was conducted from September 2015 to April 2016. Data were collected using a structured and pretested questionnaire adopted from the World Health Organization STEPwise approach. BP records of 6 months were used, and patients were classified as having controlled BP if their BP readings were <140/90 mmHg for all adults ≥18 years of age and <150/90 mmHg for adults aged ≥60 years. A generalized estimating equation was fitted, and the odds ratio with a 95% confidence level was used to determine the effect of covariates on BP control status.

Results

Among 395 participants, 50.4% (95% CI: 45–55) of them controlled their BP in the last 6 months of the survey. Physical activity (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=1.95, 95% CI: 1.41–2.68), duration on antihypertensive drugs of 2–4 years (AOR=1.70, 95% CI: 1.13–2.56) and 5 years or more (AOR=1.96, 95% CI: 1.32–2.92), and high adherence (AOR=2.18, 95% CI: 1.14–4.15) to antihypertensive drugs were positively associated with BP control, while salt intake (AOR=0.67, 95% CI: 0.49–0.93), overweight (AOR=0.50, 95% CI: 0.36–0.68), and obesity (AOR=0.56, 95% CI: 0.36–0.87) were inversely associated with BP control.

Conclusion

In this study, only half of the hypertensive patients controlled their BP. Thus, health care providers need to be made aware about the importance of counseling hypertensive patients on drug adherence, moderate physical activity, and salt restriction to improve BP control.

Adipokine Profiling in Adult Women With Central Obesity and Hypertension

Central obesity and hypertension are common risk factors for the metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular and renal diseases. Studies have shown that it is more difficult to control blood pressure and prevent end-organ damage in obese individuals with hypertension compared to their non-obese counterparts, especially among women. Obese females have a 6 times higher risk of developing hypertension than non-obese females while obese males are at a 1.5 times higher risk of developing hypertension, compared to their non-obese counterparts. Indeed, the inter-relationship between obesity and hypertension is unclear. Adipokines have been proposed to play a mediating role in the relationship between obesity and hypertension and are involved in the pathogenesis of metabolic diseases. Therefore, this study sought to determine the role of adipokines (adiponectin, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, leptin, and tumor necrosis factor-α) in hypertensive Hong Kong Chinese women with central obesity. A total of 387 women aged 58 ± 11 years who were examined with a 2 × 2 factorial design for central obesity (waist circumference ≥ 80 cm) and hypertension (blood pressure ≥ 140/90 mmHg), were recruited from a pool of 1,492 Hong Kong Chinese adults who were previously screened for metabolic syndrome. Subjects with hyperglycemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and dyslipidemia were excluded to eliminate confounding effects. Our findings revealed that hypertensive women with central obesity had a lower anti-inflammatory status (adiponectin) and a higher pro-inflammatory status (TNF-α) than obese alone or hypertensive alone women. Also, women with central obesity had higher circulatory PAI-1 and leptin concentrations than their non-obese counterparts. We conclude that obesity may shift toward a more pro-inflammatory state and may become more severe in the presence of hypertension or vice versa.