Abstract
BACKGROUND: Hypertension is a significant global health issue, including in Ethiopia, where it remains poorly controlled despite effective treatments, leading to complications and death. This study aimed to estimate time to death and identify predictors among adult hypertensive patients in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia. METHOD: A retrospective cohort study was conducted among 530 randomly selected adult hypertensive patients from June 28, 2020 to June 28, 2023. Data were collected by Kobo Toolbox and cleaned in Excel, while analysis was done by Stata version 17. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve was computed to estimate the time to death. A log-rank test was used to compare the differences in survival distributions among groups of independent variables. Cox proportional hazards regression models were fitted to identify the predictors of time to death. A p-value of <0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: The median survival time was 24 months, with a mortality rate of 7.9 per 1000 person-months. Significant independent predictors of mortality included higher education (AHR: 0.17), use of amlodipine (AHR: 0.19), combining amlodipine and hydrochlorothiazide (AHR: 0.17), smoking (AHR: 6.64), alcohol consumption (AHR: 2.66), obesity (AHR: 5.55), being overweight (AHR: 5.66), and having comorbidities (AHR: 3.84). CONCLUSION: Factors such as education, medication adherence, lifestyle choices, and comorbidities significantly influence mortality among hypertensive patients. Comprehensive management strategies addressing these risk factors are crucial for improving survival in similar healthcare settings.