Links Between Depression and Hypertension

The Association Between Depression and Hypertension
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The Association Between Depression and Hypertension
Introduction
Occasional anxiety, loss of interest in life sometimes, persistent guilt or regret, inability to concentrate, and extreme fatigue are some of the most common feelings worldwide. Together, and among others, they are symptoms of depression, a mental health condition common worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, Over 3.8% of the global population experience depression (WHO, 2023). Depression is not only a medical condition but also a potential precursor to other health problems, including hypertension, particularly when age is included as a factor or variable. The current paper discusses the association between depression, as a psychosocial factor, with hypertension.
Depression
In most cases, depression is an overt condition that is hardly noticed until people start noticing severe symptoms like complete self-neglect, neglect of duties, change in habits, social isolation, and suicidal tendencies. It has many causes, and its complexity is such that it is often caused by a combination of these factors, making it hard to detect by both self and others (CDC, 2022). The causes or risk factors include personality, personal challenges, illness, loss, substance abuse, trauma, abuse, childhood experience, work stress, marriage problems, and giving birth. This mental health condition is costly, from the household level to the national economy. Greenberg et al. (2021) estimated that in 2020, the economic burden of major depressive disorder was $326.2 billion. The figure includes work hours lost, reduced productivity, and out-of-pocket expenditures on therapy and prescriptions. However, the biggest cost of depression is that it acts as a precursor to other chronic conditions like hypertension.
Hypertension
High blood pressure, like depression, is a common medical condition worldwide. In the United States, CDC estimates that nearly 47% of adults have hypertension. Globally, the World Health Organization estimates that 46% of adults who have hypertension are unaware (WHOa, 2023). This makes depression just as potent as depression since it is difficult to detect until major symptoms become immediately apparent or detected during a check-up. Another similarity it shares with depression is that age is a risk factor; the older a person gets, the more likely they are to have high blood pressure. Extreme symptoms of depression include chest pains, severe headaches, vomiting, nausea, anxiety, and difficulty in breathing. Besides age, other risk factors are obesity, tobacco use, family history, genetics, mental health conditions like depression, lifestyle choices like diet, not exercising, and substance abuse.
Association Between Depression and Hypertension
Comorbid depression is a common experience among people with hypertension. According to Li et al. (2015), over 25% of patients suffering from hypertension show major depressive symptoms. This suggests that health and environmental conditions cause people to suffer from the two conditions at the same time or that the same conditions shape them. While these two conditions (mental and physical) can co-exist because of the conditions that allow or sustain them, studies also show that they have a bi-directional relationship. On the one hand, researchers hold that hypertension leads to or can be a precursor to the development of depression (Rubio-Guerra et al., 2013). This means that depression helps create conditions that allow hypertension to emerge. On the other hand, researchers also have a wide consensus that hypertension is a risk factor for major depressive disorders (Wang et al., 2021). Central to this argument is that since hypertension is a chronic disease, it can send patients in disarray especially when major and life-threatening symptoms emerge.
According to Rubio-Guerra et al. (2013), depression and hypertension have common pathways increasing the possibility that each condition has an impact on the future of the other. These pathways include increased sympathetic tone and cortisol and adrenocorticotropic hormone secretion. In establishing this relationship, Rubio-Guerra et al. followed forty hypertensive patients in Mexico. They used the Spearman correlation coefficient to determine the relationship. Findings showed that people with depression have poor blood pressure control, making it a risk factor. For people already suffering from hypertension, depression can exacerbate the condition. Other researchers like Harmer, Duman, and Cowen (2017) explained this relationship from the point of view of antidepressants. They reiterated that modern antidepressants work by targeting monoamine neurotransmitter function. Because the monoamine neurotransmitter function is a shared path between depression and hypertension, it further strengthens the evidence that depression is a risk factor for hypertension.
While Rubio-Guerra et al. (2013) and Harmer, Duman, and Cowen (2017) tried to establish a direct relationship, other studies show an indirect relationship in which depressio...