Relationship between alexithymia and variability of blood pressure measured with ABPM in hypertensive patients
Małgorzata Piotrowska-Półrolnik , Paweł Holas , Izabela Krejtz , Bartosz Symonides
Abstract
Objective Studies indicates that dysregulation of emotions plays an important role in the etiology of elevated blood pressure (BP). One of the signatures of emotional dysregulation is alexithymia defined as an impaired ability to experience and express emotions. Previous work indicated that primary hypertension (HT) is marked by higher alexithymia, but little research examined the relationship between alexithymia and variability of evaluated BP with 24 h Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring (ABPM) in HT patients. Method Fifty-five participants diagnosed with hypertension and a matched group of thirty-nine healthy participants filled in The Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), a clinical-demographic questionnaire, and were assessed with 24 h ABPM. Results After removing those with white coat HT, as expected, hypertensive individuals had a higher total score and all three alexithymia subscales. Furthermore, alexithymia was positively correlated with average values of systolic BP. Conclusion These findings provided support for the contention that alexithymia is associated with elevated BP, the higher level of alexithymia the higher systolic BP in 24 h BP measurement. Future studies may examine the causal relationship between alexithymia and HT and evaluate the effectiveness of emotional regulation training interventions to reduce BP in people suffering from primary hypertension.Author | |||||||||
Journal series | General Hospital Psychiatry, ISSN 0163-8343, e-ISSN 1873-7714, (N/A 100 pkt) | ||||||||
Issue year | 2019 | ||||||||
Vol | 60 | ||||||||
Pages | 1-5 | ||||||||
Publication size in sheets | 0.5 | ||||||||
ASJC Classification | |||||||||
DOI | DOI:10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2019.04.014 | ||||||||
URL | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0163834319300106?via%3Dihub | ||||||||
Language | en angielski | ||||||||
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Score (nominal) | 100 | ||||||||
Score source | journalList | ||||||||
Publication indicators | : 2016 = 1.114; : 2017 = 2.989 (2) - 2017=3.082 (5) | ||||||||
Citation count* | 3 (2020-10-07) |
* presented citation count is obtained through Internet information analysis and it is close to the number calculated by the Publish or Perish system.
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