Low blood pressure and depression in older men: a population based study

Abstract

Objective : To determine if an association exists between low blood pressure and depressive symptoms in older men living in the community. Design : Cross sectional, population based study. Setting : Town of Rancho Bernardo, California, United States. Subjects : 846 men aged 60-89 years. Comparisons between hypotensive, normotensive, and hypertensive groups were limited to 594 men not taking drugs for hypertension. Main Outcome Measures : Mean scores on Beck depression inventory and prevalence of scores >= 13. Results - Men with diastolic blood pressure Conclusion : The association of relatively low diastolic blood pressure with higher depressive symptom scores and rates of categorical depression was independent of age or weight loss. Since fatigue is a prominent symptom of depression, any association of low blood pressure with fatigue could reflect depressive disorders or clinically important depression.