Prevalence of Hypertension in Renal Diseases in Iran: Systematic Review and Meta‑Analysis

Hypertension is a risk factor for renal disease. Therefore, this study was aimed at estimating the prevalence of hypertension in renal patients in Iran through meta‑analysis.

The search was carried out using authentic Persian and English keywords in national and international databases including IranMedex, SID, Magiran, IranDoc, Medlib, ScienceDirect, Pubmed, Scopus, Cochrane, Embase, Web of Science, Medline, and Google Scholar search engine without any time limitation until 2017. Heterogeneity of studies was assessed using the I2 index. Data were analyzed using STATA ver 11.

In 35 reviewed studies with a sample of 39,621 subjects, the prevalence of hypertension in renal patients was 35% (95% CI: 29%–41%) (25% in women and 18% in men). The prevalence of systolic hypertension in renal patients was 5%, diastolic hypertension 26%, and diabetes 23%. The prevalence of hypertension in hemodialysis patients was 34%, 27% in peritoneal dialysis, 43% in kidney transplantation, and 26% in chronic renal failure. In addition, meta‑regression showed that the prevalence of hypertension in renal patients did not significantly decrease during the years 1988–2017.

More than a third of kidney patients in Iran suffer from high blood pressure. The diastolic blood pressure of these patients is about five times higher than their systolic blood pressure. Moreover, the age group under 30 is a high‑risk group. The prevalence of hypertension in women with kidney disease is higher than in men. In addition, patients who have kidney transplants are more likely to have high blood pressure than other kidney patients.