Frequency of Anxiety Disorders in Patients With Arterial Hypertension and Comorbid Diseases

Abstract

Background. Anxiety is more common in patients with hypertension. The comorbid presence anxiety disorders and arterial hypertension complicates medical treatment, may change the severity and/or progression of disease.
 Objective. To study the influence of comorbid diseases on the development of anxiety disorders in patients with hypertension in outpatient practice.
 Methods. This observational cohort study employed the State‐Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI, Spielberger anxiety scale) to assess symptoms of anxiety in several groups with hypertension. The study cohort included 360 patients with isolated hypertension, 172 patients with hypertension in combination with obesity and 72 patients with comorbid hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM)
 Results. A high incidence of anxiety disorders was found in patients with hypertension 98.06% regardless of the presence of obesity 97.09% and type 2 diabetes 98.18%. The incidence and severity of trait anxiety in the examined patients was the lowest in the group of patients with hypertension in combination with obesity 59.65%, compared with patients with isolated hypertension 68.61% p =0.042045 and the group of hypertension in combination with type 2 diabetes 78.18% p=0.012662. According to the severity of the combination of hypertension with obesity, patients with a low 40.35% and an average 41.52% indicator of trait anxiety prevailed, in patients with hypertension in combination with type 2 diabetes, an average 52.73% and a high 25.45% level of anxiety were more often observed (p<0.5).
 The presence of type 2 diabetes increases the frequency and severity of state anxiety in patients with hypertension. Thus, patients with hypertension in combination with type 2 diabetes were more likely to have a high (50.91%) level of state anxiety, while patients with isolated hypertension were more likely to have low (5.56%) and medium (70.35%) levels of anxiety disorders.