Journal
HYPERTENSION RESEARCH
Volume 33, Issue 3, Pages 203-208Publisher
SPRINGERNATURE
DOI: 10.1038/hr.2009.210
Keywords
anger; anxiety; depression; personality; stress
Categories
Funding
- Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology [BSO2003-08321]
- Spanish Ministry of Education and Science [SEJ2006-02003]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
This study was aimed at determining whether there are differences in emotional personality traits and psychosocial stress between hypertension and normotension. From a large community sample of adults, 14 individuals having hypertension and showing clinic blood pressures (BP) >= W140/90 mm Hg and self-measured BPs >= 135/85 mm Hg (sustained hypertensives) were selected and compared with a sex-and age-matched group of 14 individuals with normotension (clinic BPs <140/90 mm Hg and self-measured BPs <135/85 mm Hg) on measures of trait anxiety, trait depression, trait anger and stress derived from standardized questionnaires. There were no significant differences between hypertensives and normotensives on trait anger, but, in line with hypotheses, the sustained hypertensive group showed higher levels of trait anxiety, trait depression and stress than did the normotensive group. A discriminant analysis revealed that trait depression was the most important psychological variable to discriminate between sustained hypertension and normotension. Results provide support to the hypothesized relationship of emotional personality traits and stress with hypertension, and underscore the need to define hypertension on the basis of both clinic and home/ambulatory BP measurements and to simultaneously evaluate all relevant negative emotional constructs, when conducting research on psychological factors in hypertension. Hypertension Research (2010) 33, 203-208; doi:10.1038/hr.2009.210; published online 8 January 2010
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available