Assessment of Selected Clinical Chemistry Analytes Among Hypertensive Patients at Wallaga University Referral Hospital, Nekemte, Oromia, Western Ethiopia: A Comparative Cross‐Sectional Study

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background and Aims Hypertension (HTN) is a long‐term condition marked by consistently high arterial blood pressure. It is a leading contributor to cardiovascular diseases and early mortality around the globe. It increases the risk of ischemic heart disease, stroke, chronic kidney disease (CKD), and dementia. So far, several studies have been conducted, but to the authors’ knowledge, there is a scarcity of similar studies done on the selected analytes in our setting, which can be an important input for the early detection of disturbance in specific parameters. So, this study aims to assess selected Clinical Chemistry analytes in hypertensive patients. Methods A comparative cross‐sectional study was conducted at Wallaga University Referral Hospital among 105 hypertensive patients and 105 non‐hypertensive controls from June 2 to August 20, 2022. Participants were interviewed using structured questionnaires about their socio‐demographics and measured for their anthropometric characteristics. Then, five milliliters (5 mL) of blood samples were collected and analyzed for fasting blood sugar (FBS), serum electrolytes, creatinine, uric acid, and lipid profiles using a Cobas c‐311 clinical chemistry analyzer. Data were entered into Epi Data version 4.6 and analyzed using SPSS version 26. A p ‐value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant at a 95% confidence level. Results and Conclusion The average age of the hypertensive and control groups was 54.69 ± 12 years and 44.82 ± 12.9 years, respectively. Hypertensive patients had significantly lower mean ± SD levels of serum creatinine, total cholesterol (TC), LDL cholesterol (LDL‐C), HDL cholesterol (HDL‐C), and sodium ( p < 0.05) compared to non‐hypertensive participants. In contrast, they had significantly higher mean ± SD levels of fasting blood sugar (FBS) and triglycerides (TG). In this study, we found that the hypertensive group faced an increased risk of clinical chemistry analyte changes over time. Therefore, regular monitoring of Clinical Chemistry parameters is crucial for patients with hypertension.