Study selection and eligibility criteria
Papers were initially screened by title and abstract. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they were a randomized-controlled trial (RCT) performed in hypertensive human subjects ≥18 years old, examining antihypertensive effects of either a thiazide, thiazide-like, loop, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist (MRA) or potassium-sparing diuretic with a duration of at least one week. Studies investigating novel diuretics not licensed for clinical use were excluded as were studies in which subjects had pulmonary arterial hypertension or heart failure. All studies were required to have examined PA with results available before and during diuretic treatment or, in the case of placebo-controlled trials, during treatment with placebo. Studies were eligible if diuretic therapy was added to either no previous therapy or to stable background treatment. The search was limited to the English language only and review articles were disregarded. Titles and abstracts were screened by one author (RJM), and the same author reviewed the full-text articles.