PSYCHOLOGICAL, PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SUBJECTS AT RISK FOR ESSENTIAL-HYPERTENSION

This study compared characteristics of subjects who had a parental history of hypertension (FH + group, n = 51) with those who did not (FH - group, n = 49). Subjects took personality questionnaires and self-ratings of alcohol use. State effects were measured just before the experiment. Baseline blood pressure (BP) and BP changes in response to a mental arithmetic stress task were recorded. Personality and state affect measures were factor analyzed yielding five factors: state dysphoria (Dys) vs positive affect (PA); sensation seeking (SS)-psychoticism (P); trait anger-anger-out; extraversion (E)-Type A; neuroticism (N)-anger-in. A stepwise discriminant function analysis was used to discriminate female and male FH + and FH - groups. Results indicated that men seem to inherit a specific BP overreactivity to stress compounded with a tendency toward overweight while the genetic link in women may be mediated by more general emotional states and traits. © 1991.