Hypertension is a risk factor for severe COVID-19, with a dose-response relationship for elevated systolic blood pressure with severe COVID-19, according to a study published in PLOS ONE.

Holly Pavey, from the University of Cambridge in the UK, and colleagues examined the impact of hypertension, systolic blood pressure (SBP), and antihypertensive medications on the risk for severe COVID-19 using data from the UK Biobank and linked health records.

Overall, 16,134 individuals tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, 22% developed severe COVID-19, and 40% had hypertension.

The researchers found that compared with normotension, hypertension was associated with increased odds of severe COVID-19 after adjustment for confounding variables (odds ratio, 1.22).