Background: Hypertension is a global health concern. A better understanding of sex differences in the comorbidities of patients with arterial hypertension could yield treatments that are better tailored to the individual. The objective of the study was to investigate sex differences in the comorbidities of hospitalized hypertensive patients.
Methods: The study included 200 patients with arterial hypertension consecutively hospitalized in the Internal Medicine Clinic of the Clinical Emergency Hospital of Bucharest, Romania, in 2015. We analyzed data from the hospital record database, using Analyse-IT software.
Results: The distribution by sex: 122 men (61.60%) and 78 women (38.40%). Women were younger than men (mean age 62.2+-11.2 years versus 68.4+-12.3years). The comparative distribution of comorbidities in women and men: dyslipidemia (62.5% vs 55%), left ventricle hypertrophy (54.4% vs 50.5%), diabetes (37.5% vs 21%), heart failure (34.4% vs 42.6%), obesity (34.4% vs 25%), coronary heart disease (32.8% vs 27.4%), chronic kidney disease (31.8% vs 26.1%), sleep apnea syndrome (14% vs 1%), hyperuricemia (2.3% vs 1%). We did not find a significant difference in the severity of hypertension between men and women (p=0.49), nor in the grade of obesity, left ventricular hypertrophy, frequency of heart failure, chronic kidney disease or coronary heart disease. Instead, we have found a statistically significant higher frequency of diabetes in women (p=0.03). Also, the frequency of sleep apnea was higher in women (p=0.003). The mean left ventricular ejection fraction was similar in women and in men (57.5%vs 56%).
Conclusions: Hypertensive women in our study were younger than men. The severity of hypertension was similar in both genders. Women had a higher frequency of diabetes and sleep apnea.
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