Anger expression and suppression among patients with essential hypertension

Objective. Hypertension (HTN) is among the seven psychosomatic diseases for which mental etiologies were proposed in 1950s. The objective of this study was to evaluate the rate of anger suppression and expression in individuals with hypertension referred to the heart clinic of "Fatemeh Zahra" Hospital, Sari, Iran. Methods. 200 patients with primary hypertension were categorized as the case group. One hundred healthy individuals older than 30 years without previous history of arterial hypertension and severe mental disorders were considered as the control group. Both groups were matched in terms of age, gender and level of education. The Spielberger questionnaire was used to assess the trait anger, anger in and anger out. The data were analyzed using SPSS software with statistical tests such as t-test, chi-square and regression. Results. The trait anger and anger suppression in patients with hypertension were significantly higher than the control group (P < 0.001); however, anger out was not significantly different between the two groups (P < 0.984). Conclusion. Considering the fact that trait anger and anger suppression is more prevalent among people with hypertension than healthy individuals, it seems suitable to provide education concerning anger management and emotional expression for these patients with regard to the anger issue which is a psychosomatic aspect of the disease.