Hypertension as a risk factor for developing depressive symptoms among community-dwelling elders

Objective. To determine whether hypertension (HTA) is an independent predictor of depressive symptoms (DS) in a sample of elderly Mexican community-dwelling persons. Material and methods. and methods. and methods. and methods. and methods. Two-year longitudinal study of 3,276 community-dwelling persons aged 60 years and older, participating in the Mexican Health and Aging Study. Subjects that self-reported both having or not having HTA while denying DS at baseline were included. Two-year follow-up data were analyzed, and multiple regression analyses were used to test whether HTA is an independent predictor of incident DS after adjusting for many potential confounders. Results. Results. Results. Results. Results. Mean age of participants was 68.4 ± 6.9 years. Prevalence of HTA was 36.6%. At follow-up, 28.7% developed DS. After adjusting for multiple covariates (age, sex, education level, relationship status, self-reported health and economic status, diabetes, arthritis, stroke, ischemic cardiopathy, falls, pain, hearing impairment, visual impairment, urinary incontinence, cognitive impairment, smoking, alcohol use, and baseline disability), HTA was an independent predictor of DS at two years followup (Adjusted Odds Ratio = 1.18; 95% confidence interval = 1.01-1.40). Conclusions. Hypertension is an independent risk factor for the development of depressive symptoms. Programs to support early treatment of cardiovascular disease and hypertension should be implemented in order to prevent late-onset of depressive symptoms.