Psychosomatic Medicine Tips for Better Browsing
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Robbins, M. A.
Right arrow Articles by Colton, T.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Robbins, M. A.
Right arrow Articles by Colton, T.

Psychosomatic Medicine, Vol 56, Issue 3 251-259, Copyright © 1994 by American Psychosomatic Society

ORIGINAL ARTICLES

Unmedicated blood pressure levels and quality of life in elderly hypertensive women

MA Robbins, MF Elias, SH Croog and T Colton
Department of Psychology, University of Maine, Orono 04469-5742.

We examined the associations between unmedicated systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) levels and measures of quality of life (QOL). Women (N = 315) ranging in age from 60 to 80 with diagnoses of mild to moderate hypertension were removed from antihypertensive medications and placed on placebo medication in the context of a clinical drug trial. Unmedicated BP levels were measured at the QOL interview, which followed a 4- to 8-week placebo run-in period, and at the preceding visit 1 week earlier. Indices representing five QOL dimensions were obtained in the QOL interview. The QOL dimensions assessed were: 1) sense of general well-being; 2) cognitive functioning; 3) affective status; 4) physical health status; and 5) level and enjoyment of social activity. QOL indices were regressed on unmedicated systolic and diastolic BP levels and on duration of hypertension in separate models. Each regression model included age, education, cigarette smoking, alcohol intake, and body mass index as covariables. We found that unmedicated BP levels were inversely related to QOL measures of cognitive functioning and social activity level. Although duration of hypertension was not related to cognitive functioning or social activity level, duration was associated with indices representing other dimensions of QOL. Specifically, duration of hypertension was inversely related to sense of general well-being and positively related to measures of physical health status, i.e., physical symptom incidence and sleep dysfunction.


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 StrokeHome page
G. E. Swan, D. Carmelli, and A. Larue
Systolic Blood Pressure Tracking Over 25 to 30 Years and Cognitive Performance in Older Adults
Stroke, November 1, 1998; 29(11): 2334 - 2340.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 1994 by the American Psychosomatic Society