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Low blood pressure and risk of depression in the elderly. A prospective community-based study
S Paterniti1, M H Verdier-Taillefer, C Geneste
1Institut National de la Santé et de le Recherche Medicale, Hôpital Fernand Widal, Paris, France.
Background:
The relationship between depression and low blood pressure in unclear.
Aims:
To examine the temporal relation between low blood pressure and depression in a two-year follow-up.
Method:
The study group consisted of 1389 subjects aged 59-71 years; 1272 (92%) were examined after two years. Subjects completed the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D) and the Spielberger inventory scales to assess depressive and anxiety symptoms respectively. Data were collected on socio-demographic characteristics, smoking and drinking habits, medical history, drug use and blood pressure measures.
Results:
Among 1112 subjects who were considered as non-depressed at baseline, logistic regression models showed that low diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and decrease of blood pressure were predictors of high depressive symptomatology at follow-up. Baseline high CES-D scores did not predict low blood pressure two years after.
Conclusions:
In our study, low blood pressure was a risk factor for, but not a consequence of, high depressive symptomatology.
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