title: Psychosocial risk factors for hypertension: an update of the literature.
abstract: A growing body of research demonstrates that psychosocial factors play an important role in the development of hypertension. Previous reviews have identified several key factors (i.e., occupational stress) that contribute to the onset of hypertension; however, they are now outdated. In this review, we provide an updated synthesis of the literature from 2010 to April 2014. We identified 21 articles for inclusion in the review, of which there were six categories of psychosocial stressors: occupational stress, personality, mental health, housing instability, social support/isolation, and sleep quality. Sixteen of the studies reported an association between the psychosocial stressor and blood pressure. While several findings were consistent with previous literature, new findings regarding mediating and moderating factors underlying the psychosocial-hypertension association help to untangle inconsistencies reported in the literature. Moreover, sleep quality is a novel additional factor that should undergo further exploration. Areas for future research based on these findings are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Center for Healthful Behavior Change, Department of Population Health, New York University School of Medicine, 227 East 30th Street, 6th floor, New York, NY, 10016, USA, Yendelela.cuffee@nyumc.org.
authors.forename: Yendelela
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cuffee
authors.forename: Chinwe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ogedegbe
authors.forename: Natasha J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Gbenga
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ogedegbe
authors.forename: Antoinette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schoenthaler
mesh_terms: D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012934:Social Isolation / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*