[Transverse study of personality characteristics in patients with arterial hypertension].
OBJECTIVE
To verify whether hypertensive patients, with recent or old poor-controlled hypertension, asymptomatic for anxiety and/or depression, seem more disturbed in personality than normotensive patients.


METHODS
122 patients with arterial hypertension (62 women, 60 men, mean age 47 +/- 12.7 years, divided in new-hypertensive patients who don't take any drugs and old-hypertensive patients with a chronic therapy) and 65 normotensive subjects (37 women, 28 men, middle age 41 +/- 11.7 years) answered two self-extiming questionnaires: A.S.Q. by Krug and Cattel and C.D.Q. by Krug and Laughlin. For every group of variables it has been calculated the mean and standard deviation and statistical analysis was performed by Mann-Whitney's t test. A value of p < 0.05 was considered statistically significatant.


RESULTS
37 hypertensive patients (30.3%) were positive in the C.D.Q. and 34 (27.8%) in the A.S.Q. test. In the group of normotensive subjects, 13 (20%) were positive in C.D.Q. and 12 (8.4%) in A.S.Q. There was a statistic difference in C.D.Q and A.S.Q. between hypertensive and normotensive subjects. No statistic difference was found in C.D.Q. and A.S.Q. between new and old-hypertensives.


CONCLUSIONS
The study has shown a significant higher level of anxiety and depression in hypertensive subjects as compared to normotensives. However, no significant difference in anxiety and depression levels was found between new- and old-hypertensive patients or in relation with the use of antihypertensive drugs.
Cilli
M
M
Dipartimento di Scienze Cliniche, Università La Sapienza, Roma, Italia. mirellacilli@uniroma1.it
Petramala
L
L
Cotesta
D
D
Caliumi
C
C
Iorio
M
M
Serra
V
V
Cerruti
M
M
Letizia
C
C
Cipriani
C
C
D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010551:Personality; D011581:Psychological Tests