summary: Researchers have discovered that high blood pressure, depression, and brain activity related to emotion are associated with the development of high blood pressure.
source: Max Planck Institute
Our mental health and the health of our cardiovascular system are a complex interaction.
A recent study from the Max Planck Institute for Cognitive and Brain Sciences (MPI CBS) in Leipzig, Germany, demonstrated links between hypertension and depressive symptoms, well-being and emotion-related brain activity that may be relevant to the development of hypertension.
Several studies have already reported a link between mental health and high blood pressure, with mixed or even contradictory results.
In their study, researchers from MPI CBS in-depth analyzed the relationship between mental health, hypertension, and hypertension in people in their mid-60s, using extensive psychological, medical, and imaging data from the elderly population.
“To get statistically robust answers, we used a very large sample size from the UK Biobank with over 500,000 study participants. We were able to show that higher blood pressure is associated with fewer depressive symptoms, better well-being, and less emotion-related brain activity – which is Surprising at first, but may be explained by our other findings,” reports Lina Shari, first author of the study.
Interestingly, the researchers also found that the risk of high blood pressure (hypertension) was associated with poorer mental health, even years before a diagnosis of high blood pressure was made.
“In the clinic, we notice that those affected often feel tired and exhausted, and then they don’t take their anti-hypertensive medication, because this also affects their mood,” explains Arno Fellinger, MD, Head of Neurology at MPI CBS. He is another of the study’s authors.
On the other hand, we suspect that people who feel better mentally with temporarily elevated blood pressure, reinforcement learning eventually contribute to the development of permanent hypertension.
This is because the pain threshold also increases with high blood pressure. This applies not only to physical pain, but also to social pain or increased stress. So they endure pain or stress and ten years later they are diagnosed with high blood pressure.”
The researchers believe these findings lay the foundation for new thinking about the link between mental health and the causes of high blood pressure.
For widespread depressive and hypertensive diseases, such a change in perspective could enable new approaches to treatment and prevention that focus on the interaction between mental and physical health.
About this research psychology news
author: press office
source: Max Planck Institute
communication: Press Office – Max Planck Institute
picture: The image is in the public domain
Original search: open access.
“Association between mental health, blood pressure and the development of hypertension” by H. Lina Schaare et al. Nature Communications
a summary
Associations between mental health, blood pressure and the development of hypertension
Multiple studies have reported a link between mental health and high blood pressure with mixed or even contradictory results. Here, we resolve these discrepancies and dissect the cross-sectional and longitudinal relationship between mental health, systolic blood pressure, and hypertension using extensive psychiatric, clinical, and neuroimaging data from the UK Biobank.
We have shown that higher systolic blood pressure is associated with fewer depressive symptoms, greater well-being, and less emotion-related brain activity. Interestingly, terminal hypertension was associated with poorer mental health years before an HTN diagnosis. In addition, a stronger baseline association between systolic blood pressure and improved mental health was observed in individuals who developed hypertension until follow-up.
Overall, our findings provide insights into the complex relationship between mental health, blood pressure, and hypertension, suggesting that—through mechanisms of baroreceptors and reinforcement learning—the association between higher blood pressure and better mental health may ultimately contribute to the development of hypertension. blood pressure.