High blood pressure is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease, but it is also associated with psychological factors such as anxiety, depression, and neuroticism.
Neuroticism is a personality trait marked by a tendency to experience negative emotions, including anxiety and depression.
A recent study has found that diastolic blood pressure—the lower number in a blood pressure reading—is likely to cause neurotic personality traits.
Keeping diastolic blood pressure under control may help reduce neurotic behaviors, anxiety, and the risk of heart and circulatory diseases.
The research team used a technique called Mendelian randomization, which employs genetic variants as stand-ins for specific risk factors, in this case, blood pressure. This method helps provide genetic evidence for a causal link.
Genetic factors account for 30% to 60% of blood pressure variation, with over 1,000 genetic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with it. SNPs can predict a person’s response to certain drugs, susceptibility to environmental factors, and disease risk.
The researchers analyzed data from eight large genome-wide association studies, which included whole genome DNA extracted from blood samples of people predominantly of European ancestry.
They discovered that high blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure had strong causal effects on neuroticism but not on anxiety, depressive symptoms, or subjective well-being.
Further analysis indicated that diastolic blood pressure was strongly associated with neuroticism (over 90%), based on 1,074 SNPs.
The findings suggest that blood pressure may link the brain and heart, promoting the development of certain personality traits. Individuals with neuroticism are sensitive to criticism, often self-critical, and prone to anxiety, anger, worry, hostility, self-consciousness, and depression.
Neuroticism is a key factor in anxiety and mood disorders, leading to high mental stress, which can, in turn, elevate blood pressure and increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Proper monitoring and control of blood pressure can help reduce neuroticism, neuroticism-related mood disorders, and heart diseases. This research underscores the importance of managing diastolic blood pressure for both psychological and physical health.
The study was conducted by Cai L and colleagues and published in General Psychiatry.
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