The Influence of Hypertension on Quality of Life

Background: Systemic Hypertension (SH) is a major cardiovascular risk factor with a high prevalence in almost all countries. Studies show the negative effect of SH on health-related quality of life. Objective: To evaluate the quality of life of hypertensive patients when compared with the general population. Methods: A total of 333 individuals of both genders and older than 18 years were evaluated; they were divided into the Study Group, consisting of 246 hypertensive patients undergoing treatment in a multidisciplinary service and the Control group, comprised of 87 normotensive individuals from the community. A sociodemographic questionnaire and the SF-36 for quality of life assessment were administered to both groups. The Chi-square, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Mann Whitney U-test, Kruskal-Wallis test and multivariate analysis were used for the statistical analysis. Data were analyzed using SPSS and p values <0.05 were considered significant. Results: The groups were homogeneous for age, gender, ethnicity, educational level and marital status. It was observed that normotensive individuals showed a better health-related quality of life when compared with hypertensive patients. Conclusion: Although considered to be almost always a clinically silent disease, systemic hypertension impairs the quality of life of patients who suffer from it. (Arq Bras Cardiol. 2013; 100(2): 164-174)