DEPRESSION AND LOW BLOOD-PRESSURE - A CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP

No difference was found in the blood pressures of depressed compared with non-depressed psychiatric inpatients in a sample of 1,046 consecutive admissions, when potential confounding factors were taken into account. This suggests that depression, even of sufficient severity to lead to hospital admission, does not cause a lowering of blood pressure, either directly or indirectly, as a consequence of decreased physical activity or altered diet. These results have implications for the recently described link between low blood pressure and symptoms of mild depression. By suggesting that even moderate or severe depression does not cause a lowering of blood pressure, the hypothesis that low blood pressure gives rise to the symptoms of mild depression becomes more plausible.