UNMEDICATED BLOOD-PRESSURE LEVELS AND QUALITY-OF-LIFE IN ELDERLY HYPERTENSIVE WOMEN

We examined the associations between unmedicated systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) levels and measures of quality of life (QOL). Women (N = 315) ranging in age from 60 to 80 with diagnoses of mild to moderate hypertension were removed from antihypertensive medications and placed on placebo medication in the context of a clinical drug trial. Unmedicated BP levels were measured at the QOL interview, which followed a 4- to 8-week placebo run-in period, and at the preceding visit 1 week earlier. Indices representing five QOL dimensions were obtained in the QOL interview. The QOL dimensions assessed were: 1) sense of general well-being; 2) cognitive functioning; 3) affective status; 4) physical health status; and 5) level and enjoyment of social activity. QOL indices were regressed on unmedicated systolic and diastolic BP levels and on duration of hypertension in separate models. Each regression model included age, education, cigarette smoking, alcohol intake, and body mass index as covariables. We found that unmedicated BP levels were inversely related to QOL measures of cognitive functioning and social activity level. Although duration of hypertension was not related to cognitive functioning or social activity level, duration was associated with indices representing other dimensions of QOL. Specifically, duration of hypertension was inversely related to sense of general well-being and positively related to measures of physical health status, i.e., physical symptom incidence and sleep dysfunction.