Anxiety and depression lowers blood pressure: 22-year follow-up of the population based HUNT study, Norway

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>For decades, symptoms of anxiety and depression have been included among psychological factors associated with development of hypertension. Although this has been questioned in recent studies, most findings have been based on a single assessment of mental distress at baseline. We examined these associations using repeated assessments of anxiety, depression and blood pressure.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data on 17,410 men and women aged 20 to 67 participating in the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT) in Norway in 1984-86 were re-examined 11 and 22 years later. The main outcome was change in mean blood pressure (mm Hg) during follow-up.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that a high symptom level score (≥80^thpercentile) of combined anxiety and depression at baseline, as compared to a lower symptom level, was associated with lower mean systolic (-0.67 mm Hg, p <it>= </it>0.044) and diastolic (-0.25 mm Hg, p <it>= </it>0.201) blood pressure at year 22. A high symptom level present at all three examinations was associated with a stronger decrease in mean systolic (-1.59 mm Hg, p <it>= </it>0.004) and diastolic (-0.78 mm Hg, p <it>= </it>0.019) blood pressure and with a 20% (p = 0.001) lower risk of developing hypertension (BP ≥140/90 mm Hg) at year 22. The associations were only slightly attenuated in multivariate analyses, with no evidence of a mediating effect of alteration in heart rate.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study do not support previous hypothesis that emotional stress may be a cause of hypertension. Our findings indicate that symptoms of anxiety and depression are associated with decrease in blood pressure, particularly when a high symptom level can be detected over decades.</p

Age-specific prevalence of the metabolic syndrome defined by the International Diabetes Federation and the National Cholesterol Education Program: the Norwegian HUNT 2 study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The 2005 International Diabetes Federation (IDF) definition of the metabolic syndrome was designed to be useful worldwide, but to date few prevalence studies have used that definition in European populations. We estimated the age- and sex-stratified prevalence of IDF-defined metabolic syndrome in a county of Norway and compared it with the prevalence estimated using the revised National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel-III definition (2005 ATP III).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Cross-sectional analysis of 10,206 participants aged 20–89 years in the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study 1995–97 (HUNT 2).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Prevalence of IDF-defined metabolic syndrome was 29.6% (95% CI: 28.8 to 30.5), compared to 25.9% (95% CI: 25.0 to 26.7) using the 2005 ATP III criteria. The prevalence of IDF-defined metabolic syndrome increased from 11.0% in the 20–29 years age group to 47.2% in the 80–89 years group in men, and from 9.2% to 64.4% for women in the corresponding age groups. Among men and women aged ≥60 years, the IDF criteria classified 56.7% and 75.0%, respectively, as having central obesity, and 89.3% and 90.9%, respectively, as being hypertensive.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>According to both definitions, the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome increased strongly with age. The IDF and the American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute guidelines for clinical management of metabolic syndrome would classify a high proportion of elderly Norwegians as in need of overall risk assessment for cardiovascular disease.</p

Translating knowing that into knowing how: The case of trust in regional network building

By asking: Can action research help transmit ordinary, conventional, descriptive-analytic knowledge?, we set out to explore the complementarity between the descriptive-analytic "knowing that" and the practical "knowing how" knowledge. drawing on a longitudinal study, the paper shows how a theoretical concept: "trust", was used as practical vehicle for faciliating commitment to the network development process. The answer to the question is definitely positive. Moreover, it emerges that the debate on the different forms of knowledge fails to address what it actualy means to construct practical orders. Only the embodiment of research knowledge into specific social constructions will demonstrate the potential gains of action