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Generalized anxiety and major depressive disorders, their comorbidity and hypertension in middle-aged men

Douglas Carroll1, Anna C Phillips, Catharine R Gale

  • 1School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK. carrolld@bham.ac.uk

Psychosomatic Medicine
|November 26, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) are linked to hypertension. The combination of GAD and MDD showed the strongest association with hypertension in this study.

Area of Science:

  • Psychiatry
  • Cardiovascular Health
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Major depressive disorder (MDD) has been extensively studied in relation to physical health outcomes.
  • Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and its comorbidity with MDD require further investigation regarding their impact on physical health.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the cross-sectional associations between GAD, MDD, their comorbidity, and hypertension.
  • To compare the strength of association for GAD alone, MDD alone, and comorbid GAD/MDD with hypertension.

Main Methods:

  • A cohort of 4180 U.S. Army men from the Vietnam war era was analyzed.
  • Data on sociodemographics, occupation, and health were collected via military files, interviews, and medical exams.
  • Hypertension was defined by physician diagnosis, medication use, or blood pressure readings (≥140/90 mmHg). GAD and MDD were diagnosed using DSM-III criteria.

Main Results:

  • Both GAD and MDD were positively associated with hypertension after adjusting for multiple covariates.
  • The comorbidity of GAD and MDD demonstrated the strongest positive association with hypertension compared to individual diagnoses.
  • These associations were consistent across age-adjusted and fully adjusted models.

Conclusions:

  • The findings highlight the significant relationship between anxiety, depression, and hypertension.
  • Future research should focus equally on GAD and the comorbidity of GAD and MDD for mental and physical health outcomes.
  • Understanding these comorbidities is crucial for comprehensive health management.
Abstract

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