Introduction:
The prevalence of hypertension in lupus nephritis varies according to studies and can be as high as 74%. In our context, few studies have been conducted to investigate this prevalence. We therefore conducted this study to determine the prevalence of hypertension in lupus nephritis, identify hypertension-associated factors, and investigate the occurrence of a cardiovascular event.
Methods:
This was a multicenter, retrospective, descriptive, and analytical study over a 10-year period from January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2022. It targeted patients followed for lupus nephritis confirmed by anatomo-pathological examination in the nephrology departments of Aristide Le Dantec, Dalal Jamm, and Principal hospitals in Dakar. We compared hypertensive and non-hypertensive patients to identify hypertension-associated factors.
Results:
In the study population, the mean age was 33.90 years, with a sex ratio of 0.30. The prevalence of hypertension was 40.1%. Mean creatinine was 22.8 mg/l, and renal failure was present in 29.6% of patients. Mean proteinuria was 4.85 g/24 h. Twenty-three patients were in class III, 25 in class IV, and 19 in class V. Among hypertensive patients, the mean age was 39.33 years, with a sex ratio of 0.25. Mean creatinine was 33.7 mg/l, and renal failure was present in 56.66% of patients. Mean proteinuria was 5.42 g/24 h. Twelve patients were in class III, 16 in class IV, and 2 in class V. Hypertension-associated factors were age (OR=1.15, 95% CI: 1.05-2.25; p=0.001), renal failure (OR=12.872, 95% CI: 2.23-74.28; p=0.004), and proliferative class (OR=18.83, 95% CI: 1.91-185.25; p=0.012). For the cardiovascular events, there were three cases of stroke and zero case of heart attack.
Conclusions:
Hypertension is common in lupus nephritis in our setting. Hypertension-associated factors were related to advanced age and severity of lupus nephritis. Long-term follow-up would be required to effectively identify and detect cardiovascular events.
I have no potential conflict of interest to disclose.
I did not use generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process.