Effect of Depression on Hypertension among Turkish Individuals Aged 30 and over Years

Abstract

Background: It is well known that depression is effective upon the occurrence of hypertension. The aim was to determine the prevalence of depression in the population aged 30 years old and over, and its impact on hypertension. Methods: This study is a cross-sectional study conducted on people aged 30 years and over between Sep., 1st and Oct., 30th 2009 in a region of western Turkey, Eskisehir. The questionnaire included the information about the subjects’ sociodemographic characteristics and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) used to determine those who were at the risk of depression. The data were analyzed using Student’s t test, Chi-square test and Logistic regression analysis. A value of p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: According to the Logistic analysis, older age (OR = 16.050), adding extra salt to meals (OR = 2.079), obesity (OR = 2.170) and family history of hypertension (OR = 2.139) were the important risk factors for hypertension (p < 0.05 for each one). It was determined that there was a positive connection between the scores received from the BDI and systolic and diastolic BP values [(rs = 0.151; p < 0.001) and (rs = 0.146; p < 0.001)], respectively. Conclusion: According to the above results, we may conclude that depression is effective upon the occurrence of hypertension.