Is Anxiety a Risk Factor for Hypertension?

Takeaway

• A meta-analysis found anxiety to be associated with an increased risk of hypertension, which persisted even after adjustment for possible confounders.

Why this matters

• Findings emphasise the importance of and opportunities to treat both hypertension and anxiety concurrently.

Study design

• Researchers at the University of Southampton conducted a meta-analysis of 59 studies (n=4,012,775), identified through a literature search across PubMed and Ovid and PsycINFO databases.
• Funding: None.

Key results

• Anxiety was associated with an increased risk of hypertension in cross-sectional studies (OR, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.21-1.54; I², 98.17%) and in prospective studies (OR, 1.40; 95% CI, 1.23-1.59; I², 90.26%).
• After adjusting for confounders, the risk of hypertension remained significant in cross-sectional studies (OR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.08-1.69; I², 99.12%) as well as in prospective studies (OR, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.19-1.57; I², 90.28%).

Limitations

• Heterogeneity among studies.
• Results may have limited generalisability.

This clinical summary originally appeared on Univadis, part of the Medscape Professional Network.