Hypertension affects neurobehavioral functioning

This study compared the neurobehavioral performance of hypertensive and normotensive men and women using neuropsychological, information-processing, and psychometric assessments. One hundred subjects, including 68 hypertensive and 32 normotensive individuals, completed a test battery that yielded scores on measures of speed of information processing, verbal and figural memory, psychosocial functioning, Type A behavior, and locus of control. Results showed that, compared with the normotensive individuals, the hypertensives performed more poorly on a set of tasks that measure speed of information processing and short-term memory (Digit Symbol, Digit Span (Backwards), and Reaction Time (slope)). The hypertensives also reported higher levels of state anxiety relative to their normotensive counterparts. The effects of hypertension on neurobehavioral functioning could not be accounted for on the basis of age or education.