Marital cohesion and ambulatory blood pressure in early hypertension

One hundred thirty-four men and seventy-one women, unmedicated mild hyperte nsives, underwent 24-h ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring: (ABP) and completed standardized questionnaires measuring; marital and job stress. O f these, 44.8% had daytime diastolic BP < 90 mm Hg; 96.1% had left ventricu lar mass index in the normal range (N = 176). Lower marital cohesion (Cohes ion, subscale of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale) was related to elevated night time ABP (P <.05) and 24-h diastolic BP (P <.05). With low Cohesion (N = 83 ), more reported spousal contact was associated with elevated nighttime ABP (P < .031). The 7.3% of subjects with very low Cohesion demonstrated appro ximately 6 mm Hg elevation of all ABP variables, controlling for other sign ificant variables (P <.05, except for nighttime SBP). This study shows an a ssociation between marital cohesion and ABP and suggests that marital facto rs may have a role in sustaining BP in early hypertension. Am J Hypertens 1 999;12:227-230 (C) 1999 American Journal of Hypertension, Ltd.