Association of affective temperaments with blood pressure and arterial stiffness in hypertensive patients: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundAffective temperaments (anxious, depressive, cyclothymic, irritable and hyperthymic) measure subclinical manifestations of major mood disorders. Furthermore, cumulating evidence suggests their involvement in somatic disorders as well. We aimed to assess associations between affective temperament scores and blood pressure and arterial stiffness parameters in hypertensive patients.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, 173 patients with well-controlled or grade 1 chronic hypertension, with no history of depression, completed the TEMPS-A, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAM-A) questionnaires in three GP practices. Arterial stiffness was measured with tonometry (PulsePen).ResultsAccording to multiple linear regression analysis, cyclothymic temperament score was positively associated with brachial systolic blood pressure independently of age, sex, total cholesterol, brachial diastolic blood pressure, BDI, HAM-A and the use of alprazolam (β = 0.529, p = 0.042), while hyperthymic temperament score was negatively related to augmentation index independent of age, sex, smoking, heart rate, BDI, HAM-A and the use of alprazolam (β = -0.612, p = 0.013). A significant interaction was found between cyclothymic temperament score and sex in predicting brachial systolic blood pressure (p = 0.025), between irritable and anxious temperament scores and sex in predicting pulse wave velocity (p = 0.021, p = 0.023, respectively) and an interaction with borderline significance between hyperthymic temperament score and sex in predicting augmentation index (p = 0.052).ConclusionsThe present findings highlight elevated blood pressure among subjects with high cyclothymic temperament as well as an increased level of arterial stiffening in subjects with low hyperthymic scores suggesting that affective temperaments may play a role in the development of hypertension and arterial stiffening and may thus represent markers of cardiovascular risk. Sex differences were also present in these associations.

Different Brain Activation after Acupuncture at Combined Acupoints and Single Acupoint in Hypertension Patients: An Rs-fMRI Study Based on ReHo Analysis

“…BAs 9, 13 and 31, partitions of the frontal lobe and the upper posterior cingulate cortex, are mainly connected with cognitive function as well as emotional processing and recognition. In the study of László et al affective temperaments were associated with the pathogenesis of hypertension, suggesting that patients who presented high cyclothymic temperament were in a higher risk of elevated blood pressure [39]. What is more, before evolving into stroke, there has been an impairment of the brain morphology and cognitive function of patients with hypertension to a certain degree, leading to depression or anxiety in future disease progression [40, 41].…”

Effects of Endurance Exercise Modalities on Arterial Stiffness in Patients Suffering from Unipolar Depression: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…The pathophysiology of depression and CVD show several similarities including metabolic and immunomodulatory dysregulation, autonomic dysfunction, and sympathetic overstimulation ( 37 ) as well as increased arterial stiffness ( 38 ). Arterial stiffness causes an increase in blood pressure, which leads to an additional burden for the vascular system and may, in turn, induce further stiffening of the arteries ( 39 ).…”

Suicidal ideation, perceived disability, hopelessness and affective temperaments in patients affected by Parkinson's disease

“…In this regard, several studies on psychiatric patients have reported that hyperthymic temperament is associated with bipolar disorder and is also a protective factor for suicide . The few papers that have investigated affective temperament in patients with medical conditions did not examine the association between temperament and other psychological features. The protective role of hyperthymic temperament is probably due to a more effective coping strategy; indeed, coping strategy is known to play a crucial role in people's health, with major implications on both subjective and psychological well‐being…”