Friday April 14, 2023
contradictions resolved How high blood pressure affects the psyche
The interplay between cardiovascular system and mental health is complex.
(Photo: imago images/peshkov)
High blood pressure is the disease of civilization that affects every third adult in Germany. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig want to know how hypertension affects the psyche and come to a surprising result.
A research team from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig looked at the relationship between mental health, higher blood pressure and high blood pressure in people in their mid-60s and analyzed data in depth. The researchers led by Lina Schaare and Arno Villringer came to the conclusion that higher blood pressure is associated with fewer depressive symptoms, greater well-being and lower emotion-related brain activity. The result, which initially seemed contradictory, surprised the team, but could be explained by further research results.
At the same time, the neurologists found out that the risk of high blood pressure is linked to poorer mental health years before the hypertension is diagnosed. “In the clinic, we observe that those affected often feel tired and exhausted and then don’t take their medication for the high blood pressure because it also affects their mood,” says Villringer, who heads the Department of Neurology at the Max Planck Institute , in the Message from the institute quoted.
Large datasets evaluated
Previous studies have also found evidence of links between mental health and high blood pressure, but the results have been mixed or even contradictory. “In order to obtain statistically reliable answers, we used the extremely large sample size of the UK Biobank with over 500,000 study participants,” said Lina Schaare.
The results of the current study explain two apparently contradictory connections between high blood pressure and mental health. The researchers assume that patients who feel better mentally with temporarily high blood pressure than with lower blood pressure ultimately prefer higher blood pressure. Through so-called reinforcement learning the development of permanent high blood pressure is then favored, says Villringer.
Higher blood pressure also means more pain
Based on their data, the experts assume that those affected often decide against medication and thus indirectly for the higher blood pressure, which, however, also increases the pain threshold. “This applies not only to physical pain, but also to social pain or greater stress. So you endure the pain or stress and are then diagnosed with hypertension ten years later,” Villringer explains the connections. At the same time, stress and pain are two factors that lead to psychological stress.
The results of the study published in the journal “Nature” were published, suggest that a change in perspective for the common diseases depression and high blood pressure could lead to new approaches to therapy and prevention. The research team writes that the interactions between mental and physical health are decisive.
Those: ntv.de
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