P60 PSYCHOLOGICAL DETERMINANTS OF TARGET ORGAN DAMAGE IN HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS: FOCUS ON PULSE WAVE VELOCITY AND DEPRESSION

Objective: Prior studies have suggested that the principal determinants of arterial stiffening are age, BP and others CV risk factors such as dyslipidemia and diabetes. However, scanty data are available on the role of psychological factors on arterial stiffness. The aim of the current cross-sectional study was to evaluate the association between depression, anxiety, perceived stress, Type A personality, and Type D personality and Pulse Wave Velocity (PWV) in a cohort of hypertensive patients, using baseline examination data of the TIPICO project. Methods: A total of 259 outpatients (ages 18–80 years) followed by the Hypertension Unit of S. Gerardo Hospital (Monza, Italy) affected by essential hypertension were recruited. Aortic stiffness was evaluated by c-f PWV. Moreover, anamnestic data, clinical BP, and laboratory data were evaluated. Patients were asked to complete a battery of psychological questionnaires under the guidance of a psychologist. Results: At T0 mean age was 55.9±10.1years, SBP/DBP were 135.6±17.7/82.5±9.1 mmHg and PWV was 8.6±2.1m/s. The multivariate stepwise linear regression analysis showed that age (beta = 0.284, p < 0.001), pulse pressure (beta = 0.369, p < 0.001), dyslipidemia (beta = 0.130, p = 0.012), family history of CV disease (beta = −0.123, p = 0.017), and depression (beta = 0.126, p = 0.014) were significantly and independently associated with PWV. Conclusion: Among psychological factors, higher levels of depression is related to higher PWV, while anxiety, perceived stress, Type-A personality and Type-D personality are not. Depression assessment and target intervention to reduce it should be recommended in hypertensive patients.