Association between depression and hypertension-a case-control study

ObjectiveTo investigate the relationship between depression and hypertension.MethodsParticipants above age of 35 including both patients with hypertension and the healthy controls were randomly selected in 2 communities of Puk ou district in Nanjing by Health Behavior Survey.All the subjects were assessed by the Zung's self-rating depression scale (SDS).ResultsRaw score and index score were both significantly(P<0.01)greater in patients with hypertension than in the healthy.The prevalence of depression in patient group(17.9%)was found significantly higher compared to that in control group(11.5%).After adjusting for possible confounding factors,male,older than 60 years old,white-collar participants had higher odds of hypertension(OR=2.051,95% CI:1.026~4.012;OR=1.901,95% CI:1.068~3.383;OR=1.712, 95% CI:1.057~2.775),respectively.There was interaction between depression and anxiety.ConclusionDepression is positively associated with hypertension.