April 24, 2023

Hypertension may be linked to more depression symptoms

Hypertension and depression frequently occur together, and both are risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

Studies have also shown that hypertension may cause depressive symptoms in aging through microvascular brain damage. Research also shows that an increased heart rate induces anxious behavior in mice.

However, other studies show that high blood pressure is linked to better mood, higher well-being, and lower distress.

Better understanding of the link between hypertension and depressive symptoms could improve the management of both conditions.

Recently, researchers investigated the link between hypertension and depressive symptoms using medical data from a cohort of over 500,000.

They found that higher systolic blood pressure is linked to fewer depressive symptoms, but that a hypertension diagnosis and an impending diagnosis are linked to poorer mental health.

"This link between cardiovascular functioning and mental health may lead to interventions for treatments for behavioral conditions through adjustments to the cardiovascular system and vice versa," noted Dr. Michael J. McGrath, board-certified psychiatrist, medical director of The Ohana Luxury Alcohol Rehab, who was not involved in the study, speaking to Medical News Today.

For the study, the researchers included healthcare data from 502,494 individuals in the UK Biobank database. At the beginning of the study, individuals included in the analysis were an average of 58 years old.

Healthcare data included:

hypertension diagnosis

blood pressure readings

number of antihypertensive medications

survey on frequency of depressive symptoms in the last two weeks
7-point questionnaire on well-being
MRI scans

Researchers took participants' blood pressure readings twice, an average of nine years apart, and recorded their mental health and well-being measures at baseline, five and 10 years later. The participants underwent MRI scans at the 10-year follow-up.

In the end, the researchers found that higher systolic blood pressure was linked to fewer depressive symptoms and greater well-being at all assessments.

Systolic blood pressure measures the pressure in your arteries each time the heart beats while diastolic blood pressure is the pressure in arteries when it rests between beats.

They found, however, that a hypertension diagnosis and an impending diagnosis were linked to more depressive symptoms and lower well-being.

The findings remained after controlling for medications, chronic illness, and social factors.