A prospective study of the impact of stress on quality of life: An investigation of low-income individuals with hypertension

The role that major and minor life events play in the quality of life in lo w-income hypertensives was examined. Participants were randomly recruited f rom 2 primary care clinics at a public medical center The study utilized a prospective design. Participants were determined to have hypertension and w ere being treated with antihypertensive medication prior to and throughout the duration of the study. Participants were administered the Life Experien ces Survey and the Weekly Stress Inventory repeatedly during Year I to asse ss major and minor stress, respectively. Participants were repeatedly admin istered the RAND 36-Item Health Survey during Year 2 to assess quality of l ife. Usable data were obtained from 183 patients. Analyses revealed that ma jor and minor stress were significant predictors of all measured domains of quality of life, even after age and number of chronic illnesses were stati stically controlled. Minor stress contributed uniquely to the prediction of each dimension of quality of life even when age, number of chronic illness es, and major life events were accounted for Findings suggest that stress h as a significant. persistent impact on the quality of life of low-income pa tients with established hypertension. These findings extend prior research that has examined the impact of medications on quality of life and suggest that stress needs to be accounted for as well.