Pulmonary Hypertension Demographics, Frequency and Associated Factors among Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Patients in Tertiary Care Hospitals

Objective: To determine the demographics, frequency and associated factors of pulmonary hypertension among chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients in tertiary care hospitals. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was done at the Federal Government Polyclinic Hospital and Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission Hospital, from October 2022 to September 2023, included 217 patients with COPD using convenient sampling technique. This study All the patients underwent a comprehensive evaluation to assess the presence, severity, and underlying cause of pulmonary hypertension (PH) after informed consent. Data was collected through a semi-structured proforma with sections of socio-demographic parameters of the participants, environmental risk factors such as smoking, exposure to biomass smoke and clinical comorbidities such as congestive heart failure (CHF). Results: Out of 217 COPD patients, 116 (53.5%) had pulmonary hypertension. Pulmonary hypertension was more prevalent in males (61.2%) compared to females (42%) (p-value = 0.005). Age group analysis showed a higher prevalence in individuals aged 56-80 years (71.5%) than < 56 years (29.8%) with a p-value of <0.001. A history of smoking (p-value < 0.04) exposure to biomass smoke (p-value <0.00001) and CHF (p-value = 0.010) were significantly related with higher frequency of pulmonary hypertension. Conclusion: Our study showed that the frequency of pulmonary hypertension is high in COPD patients. Male gender, old age, smoking, exposure to biomass smoke and congestive heart failure are identified as factors increasing the risk of developing pulmonary hypertension.