Examining hypertension risk among Black and White breast cancer survivors

Purpose: Breast cancer survivors are at increased risk of cardiovascular dysfunction following their diagnosis; however, hypertension remains underexplored within this context. This retrospective cohort study examined the incidence of hypertension in breast cancer survivors and the association of race with hypertension risk among them.

Methods: Data for this study were abstracted from the electronic health records of women diagnosed with Stages I-III breast cancer. Incident hypertension diagnosis was identified through International Classification of Diseases codes. Bivariate associations were tested using Student's t-test and chi-squared test of independence. Bivariable Cox regression analysis was used to determine demographic and clinical factors that may have been associated with the development of hypertension.

Results: A total of 664 women were included. Most women were 50 years of age or younger (52.0%), White (33.0% Black), and received a mastectomy (80.6%). Overall, 45.5% of the cohort developed hypertension. The 1-year hypertension-free survival estimates were 47% (95% confidence interval [CI], 41-54) in Black women and 73% (95% CI, 69-77) in White women (p < 0.0001). Besides race, statistically significant predictors of hypertension included: age greater than 50 (vs. ≤50) (adjusted Hazard Ratio [HR]: 1.40; 95% CI, 1.09-1.80) and residing in a non-metropolitan area (vs. metropolitan) (adjusted HR: 1.60; 95% CI, 1.19-2.16).

Conclusions: This study suggests that breast cancer survivors who are older, Black, or residing in non-metropolitan areas may benefit from added surveillance and hypertension prevention strategies during treatment. Future studies are needed to identify contributors to the observed racial and geographic disparities.