{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,5]],"date-time":"2026-06-05T07:05:36Z","timestamp":1780643136827,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","issue":"2","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>BACKGROUND<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular and renal diseases, significantly contributing to morbidity and mortality. The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened concerns about the impact of hypertension on severe COVID-19 outcomes.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>METHODS<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We analyzed 2020\u20132021 data from the MarketScan Commercial and Health and Productivity Management databases, focusing on adults aged 18\u201364 years with continuous employer-sponsored private insurance, excluding pregnancy or capitated plans. We compared medical costs, healthcare utilization (emergency department [ED] visits, inpatient admissions, outpatient visits, and outpatient prescription drugs), and productivity losses (sick absences, short-term disability [STD], and long-term disability) between individuals with and without hypertension, stratified by COVID-19 diagnosis. We used multivariable regression models, including an interaction term for hypertension and COVID-19 diagnosis, to estimate differences in outcomes, adjusting for demographics and comorbidities.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>RESULTS<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Among 1,296,596 adults, 21% had hypertension. Those with hypertension were older, less likely female, less likely urban residents, and had more comorbidities. Excess medical costs associated with hypertension were $8,572 per patient over the 2-year period (95% CI $8,182\u2013$8,962). Patients with vs. without hypertension had 0.200 (95% CI, 0.195\u20130.205) more ED visits, 0.081 (95% CI, 0.077\u20130.085) more inpatient admissions, 5.984 (95% CI, 5.892\u20136.075) more outpatient visits, and 20.25 (95% CI, 20.09\u201320.41) more prescriptions per patient over the 2-year period. They also had more sick absences (1.13 days; 95% CI 0.93\u20131.34) and STD occurrences (3.88 days; 95% CI 3.56\u20134.20) per patient. Among those with hypertension, individuals with vs. without COVID-19 had $3,495 (95% CI, $2,135\u2013$4,856) higher medical costs and 2.588 (95% CI, 1.112\u20134.065) more STD days per patient over the 2-year period.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>CONCLUSIONS<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Hypertension was associated with higher medical costs, healthcare utilization, and productivity losses, exacerbated by COVID-19.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1093\/ajh\/hpaf081","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,6]],"date-time":"2025-05-06T07:48:02Z","timestamp":1746517682000},"page":"241-250","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Medical Costs, Health Care Utilization, and Productivity Losses Associated With Hypertension Moderated by COVID-19 Diagnosis Among US Commercial Enrollees"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"39","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3432-6466","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jun Soo","family":"Lee","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Atlanta, Georgia ,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yidan (Xue)","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Atlanta, Georgia ,","place":["USA"]},{"name":"ASRT, Inc ., Atlanta, Georgia ,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yu","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Workforce Development, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Atlanta, Georgia ,","place":["USA"]},{"name":"Data Science and Evaluation Team, American Heart Association , Dallas, Texas ,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Joohyun","family":"Park","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Drug Overdose Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Atlanta, Georgia ,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ashutosh","family":"Kumar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Atlanta, Georgia ,","place":["USA"]},{"name":"Bizzell US , New Carrollton, Maryland ,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2706-3821","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bruce","family":"Donald","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Atlanta, Georgia ,","place":["USA"]},{"name":"ASRT, Inc ., Atlanta, Georgia ,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Feijun","family":"Luo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Atlanta, Georgia ,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kakoli","family":"Roy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Atlanta, Georgia ,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"286","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"2026020915215754300_CIT0001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"9376134","DOI":"10.1155\/2021\/9376134","article-title":"Hypertension and the risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality: an outcome-wide association study of 67 causes of death in the National 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