In a recent study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, researchers found that cumulative doses of oral steroids in patients with chronic inflammatory diseases are linked to increased blood pressure for those who take them regularly.
The research is at the University of Leeds. One author is Dr. Mar Pujades-Rodriguez.
High blood pressure affects one in five adults around the world and can have significant negative health effects.
Previous studies have reported a dose-related response between oral steroids and hypertension, although evidence has been inconclusive.
In the study, the team examined more than 71 000 patients from 389 general practices in England.
They looked at the link between oral glucocorticoid doses and high blood pressure in patients with chronic inflammatory diseases.
The most common underlying diseases included inflammatory bowel disease (35%) and rheumatoid arthritis (28%).
The researchers found that there were 24 896 (35%) new cases of high blood pressure. When patients reached cumulative doses, rates of high blood pressure increased accordingly in a dose-response pattern.
The team says the cumulative effect of oral steroid doses on hypertension is substantial, and given that these are commonly prescribed medications, the related health burden could be high.
They recommend that health care providers closely monitor blood pressure in patients who routinely take oral steroids.
If you care about high blood pressure, please read studies about a better strategy to treat high blood pressure and findings of this vegetable may help prevent high blood pressure.
For more information about blood pressure management, please see recent studies about 5 habits could help you have healthy blood pressure levels and results showing that common “cuff method” for measuring blood pressure often inaccurate.
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