title: Tuberculosis and hypertension-a systematic review of the literature.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major health problem in low- and middle-income countries, and in many of these countries, the burden of non-communicable diseases such as hypertension is rising. Knowledge about how these diseases influence each other is limited.
  
  
  METHODS
  A systematic review of the literature was performed to evaluate the evidence for an association between hypertension and TB.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Three retrospective cohort studies, three case-control studies, eight cross-sectional studies, 12 case series, and 20 case reports exploring the association between hypertension and TB were included in the review. One cohort study found a significantly higher prevalence of hypertension among TB patients compared to controls. Cross-sectional studies reported a prevalence of hypertension in TB patients ranging from 0.7% to 38.3%. No studies were designed to assess whether hypertension is a risk factor for developing active TB.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overall, no evidence was found to support an association between TB and hypertension; however, the results of this review must be interpreted with caution due to the lack of properly designed studies.
authors.affiliation: Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark. Electronic address: annelineseegert@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Anneline Borchsenius
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Seegert
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Medicine - Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus N, Denmark; Department of Public Health - Department of Health Services Research, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark; Bandim Health Project, INDEPTH Network, Apartado 861, Bissau, Guinea-Bissau.
authors.forename: Frauke
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rudolf
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Medicine - Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus N, Denmark; Department of Public Health - Department of Health Services Research, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark; Bandim Health Project, INDEPTH Network, Apartado 861, Bissau, Guinea-Bissau.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wejse
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health - Department of Health Services Research, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark.
authors.forename: Dinesh
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Neupane
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Hypertension; Systematic review; Tuberculosis