Impact of Obesity on Patients with Resistant and Refractory Arterial Hypertension: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The study population consisted predominantly of patients with resistant hypertension, with a smaller proportion having refractory hypertension.

• A total of 138 patients were included in the cross-sectional study.
• 74.7% of patients had resistant hypertension and 25.3% had refractory hypertension.
• The study was conducted in a referral outpatient clinic for severe arterial hypertension.

The study population was predominantly female and of Black ethnicity.

• Females represented 79.7% of the study population (p=0.307).
• Black ethnicities represented 91.3% of the study population (p=0.315).
• The mean age was 64.7 ± 10.8 years (p=0.566).

Obesity was present in 42% of the total study population and was more frequent among patients with refractory hypertension than resistant hypertension.

• Obesity, defined as BMI ≥ 30 kg/m², was present in 42% of all patients (p=0.379).
• Obesity prevalence was higher in refractory hypertension compared to resistant hypertension (51.4% vs. 38.8%).

Higher BMI values were directly associated with an increased number of antihypertensive medications required for blood pressure control.

• Pearson's correlation test was used to assess the relationship between anthropometric measurements and blood pressure.
• The correlation coefficient was r = 0.45 (p < 0.01), indicating a statistically significant positive association.
• This finding applied to the combined population of resistant and refractory hypertension patients.

Dyslipidemia was a highly prevalent comorbidity in this population of severe hypertension patients.

• 74.6% of the patients had dyslipidemia (p=0.400).
• This finding was reported across the full study sample of 138 patients.