PSYCHOLOGICAL-ASSESSMENT IN THE ELDERLY WITH NEW MILD SYSTOLIC HYPERTENSION

The aim of this investigation was to assess the anxiety levels and the presence of symptoms of depression in elderly subjects with recently diagnosed mild systolic hypertension. We selected 13 elderly with new systolic hypertension and 13 elderly normotensive subjects; they under went psychometric tests like state test anxiety inventory (STAI) for a nxiety, and geriatric depression scale (GDS) for depression, and 24-ho ur ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) to assess the real pres sure values and exclude the white-coat effect. ABPM data reaffirmed th e high values of systolic pressure in the elderly hypertensives identi fied by using clinical measurements, although it excluded the white-co at effect. Our study found significantly higher anxiety levels in the elderly with mild systolic hypertension, while the symptoms of depress ion are not significantly different from those of elderly normotensive s.