New study shows: High blood pressure has an influence on personality
Created: 11/30/2022, 2:00 p.m
By: Judith Brown
High blood pressure can not only increase the risk of stroke and heart attack: According to the results of a recent study, the condition also influences our personality.
In Germany, around 20 to 30 million people - and thus every third adult - suffer from high blood pressure, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).
Like other classic diseases such as diabetes, the condition often goes unnoticed for a long time.
It is well known that persistently high blood pressure can increase the risk of stroke and heart attack.
However, it can probably also affect and influence personality.
This is suggested by the results of a recent study.
High blood pressure: Can affect personality, according to researchers
According to a recent study, there is a clear connection between high blood pressure and the personality factor neuroticism.
© CSP_Bialasiewicz/IMAGO
For their study, published in the journal
General Psychiatry
, researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University focused on genes that are responsible for high blood pressure in addition to dietary habits and alcohol and tobacco consumption.
To do this, they examined the connection between the cardiovascular system and the psyche without distorting factors.
They looked at certain genetic variants that are responsible for the following four characteristics of blood pressure:
systolic blood pressure
: pressure when the heart muscle contracts
diastolic blood pressure
: pressure when the heart muscle relaxes
Pulse pressure
: Difference between systolic and diastolic blood pressure
Hypertension
: over 140/90 mmHg
For their analysis, the scientists had genome data from 736,650 people, most of whom were of European descent, at their disposal.
They also examined the data for genetic signs of various psychological phenomena, including subjective well-being, depressive symptoms, anxiety and the personality trait neuroticism.
Along with openness, conscientiousness, extraversion and agreeableness, this is one of the Big Five personality factors.
With the help of personality tests, the degree of neuroticism (tendency towards emotional instability, anxiety and sadness) can, according to the online science
portal Spektrum.de
, allow statements to be made about a disposition for neurotic tendencies and disorders.
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Hypertension is associated with neuroticism
With 90 percent agreement, the clearest connection was between high diastolic blood pressure and neuroticism.
“Persons with neuroticism can be sensitive to criticism from others, are often self-critical, and easily develop anxiety, anger, worry, hostility, self-esteem, and depression.
This can lead to long-term anxiety disorders,” says study leader Lei Cai.
In addition, according to his statements, the psychological stress experienced as a result can in turn lead to increased blood pressure and even cardiovascular diseases.
This creates a vicious circle from which, according to the researchers, those affected can get out again by appropriate monitoring and influencing their blood pressure.
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This article only contains general information on the respective health topic and is therefore not intended for self-diagnosis, treatment or medication. In no way does it replace a visit to the doctor. Unfortunately, our editors are not allowed to answer individual questions about clinical pictures.
