Moderating effect of mindfulness on the relationship between anxiety and somatization symptoms in middle‐aged and elderly female patients with hypertension

Abstract To explore the moderating effect of mindfulness on the relationship between anxiety and somatization symptoms in middle‐aged and elderly female patients with hypertension and provide a foundation for the development of more effective mindfulness intervention strategies. A total of 109 middle‐aged and elderly female patients with hypertension participated in this cross‐sectional study from April to July 2022 and provided valid responses to the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and the Somatization Symptom Self‐rating Scale (SSS). The moderating effect of mindfulness was determined using multiple linear regression. The participants’ average scores were as follows: mindfulness: 123.86 ± 10.49; anxiety: 7.41 ± 3.62; and somatization symptoms: 41.2 ± 9.44. The anxiety (P = .000) and somatization symptoms (P = .001) of participants with high mindfulness were significantly reduced. Anxiety was positively correlated with somatization symptoms (r = 0.606, P = .000), while mindfulness was negatively correlated with both anxiety (r = ‐0.468, P = .000) and somatization symptoms (r = ‐0.439, P = .000). Moreover, mindfulness had a significant moderating effect on the relationship between anxiety and somatization symptoms (n = 109) (B = ‐0.166, t = ‐2.125, P = .036). The effect of mindfulness on anxiety and somatization symptoms was more significant in participants with low mindfulness levels (n = 56) (B = 0.144, t = 2.805, P = .008) than in participants with high mindfulness levels (n = 53) (B = ‐0.037, t = ‐0.864, P = .393). The moderating effect analysis based on regression analysis showed that mindfulness had a significant moderating effect on anxiety and somatization symptoms, especially in participants with low mindfulness levels.