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Written By: Editorial Team | Published : May 29, 2014 12:44 PM IST
Researchers have shown that unpleasant or demanding interpersonal encounters increase hypertension risk among older adults.
The study provides some of the first concrete evidence that negative social interactions not only influence psychological well-being but also physical health - in this case, blood pressure levels.
Sheldon Cohen, the Robert E. Doherty University Professor of Psychology in the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences, said this demonstrates how important social networks are as we age - constructing strong, positive relationships are beneficial to prolonged health.
For the study, Sneed and Cohen used data from the Health and Retirement Study, a multi-year survey of 1,502 healthy adults aged 50 and over.
In 2006, the frequency of negative interactions - exchanges or behaviors that involved excessive demands, criticism, disappointment or other unpleasantness - with their partners, children, other family members and friends was assessed by questionnaire. Blood pressure was measured at this assessment as well as four years later.
The results show that each increase in the total average negative social interaction score was associated with a 38 percent increased chance of developing hypertension over the four-year period. Younger older adults - those aged 51-64 - were also more affected than those 65 or older.
The researchers also found that the type of relationship matters. Negative interactions between friends and family led to an increase in hypertension risk while poor encounters with partners and children did not make a difference.
The study has been published in the journal Health Psychology.
Hypertension is the medical terminology for high blood pressure. Blood flows through the arteries due to force that is exerted every time the heart beats to pump blood to various organs of your body. The force with which blood flows exerts pressure on the walls of the arteries. The more the pressure, the harder your heart has to work to pump blood.
Blood pressure is measured in millimetres of mercury (mmHg). 120/80 mmHg is considered as the normal reading for blood pressure, where 120 is the pressure when the heart beats to pump out blood (systolic pressure) and 80 is the pressure when the heart rests between beats (diastolic pressure). A person is said to have hypertension when the blood pressure readings are 140/90 mmHg or higher.
Hypertension is one of the most common chronic conditions that can lead to several other health problems in the presence of contributing factors like genetics, obesity or high cholesterol levels. These factors further increase the resistance of blood flow through the arteries and cause high BP. Elevated blood pressure is linked to a variety of diseases like coronary artery diseases, stroke, kidney diseases, vision loss and erectile dysfunction. Hypertension can be curtailed by changes like exercising more, eating right and reducing stressapart from taking anti-hypertensive drugs.
With inputs from ANI
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