[Psycho-social precursors of arterial hypertension in men and women in light of clinical cohort studies]

Following two prevalence studies of arterial hypertension carried out at 5-year interval on 6487 adult inhabitants of Ochota District, Warsaw, screening for new cases was performed at the end of the five- or ten-year observation period. Interviews were collected from 472 incident and unknown prevalence cases and 499 randomly chosen non-cases regarding social and work conditions, selected behavioral traits and personal habits. The risk of hypertension was more closely associated with blue collar social status, poor economic self-assessment and repetitive type of work in women than men. In males, but not females, higher risk was connected with expressed anger followed by feeling of guilt, but no otherwise suppressed anger was predictive of hypertension. In both sexes the incidence of the disease was higher among people reporting less life events, and with less involvement in the household and/or professional activities.