The Night Effect of Anger: Relationship with Nocturnal Blood Pressure Dipping

Maria Casagrande, Francesca Favieri, Angela Guarino, Enrico Di Pace, Viviana Langher, Giuseppe Germanò and Giuseppe Forte
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Maria Casagrande: Dipartimento di Psicologia Dinamica e Clinica–Università di Roma “Sapienza”, Via degli Apuli 1, 00185 Roma, Italy
Francesca Favieri: Dipartimento di Psicologia—Università di Roma “Sapienza”, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Roma, Italy
Angela Guarino: Dipartimento di Psicologia—Università di Roma “Sapienza”, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Roma, Italy
Enrico Di Pace: Dipartimento di Psicologia—Università di Roma “Sapienza”, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Roma, Italy
Viviana Langher: Dipartimento di Psicologia Dinamica e Clinica–Università di Roma “Sapienza”, Via degli Apuli 1, 00185 Roma, Italy
Giuseppe Germanò: Dipartimento di Scienze Cardiovascolari, Respiratorie, Nefrologiche e Geriatriche–Università di Roma “Sapienza”, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 00185 Roma, Italy
Giuseppe Forte: Dipartimento di Psicologia—Università di Roma “Sapienza”, Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Roma, Italy

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 8, 1-12

Abstract: Introduction: The circadian pattern of blood pressure is characterized by a physiological drop occurring after sleep onset. The alteration of this phenomenon (non-dipping, extreme dipping, or reverse dipping) is associated with an increased cardiovascular risk. Besides altered autonomic and endocrine circadian rhythms, psychological aspects seem to play a role in this modification. However, the few studies that have analyzed the influence of psychological dimensions on the dipping phenomenon have reported inconsistent results. This study aimed to examine the relationship between anger expression and blood pressure (BP) dipping. Methods: We obtained 24 h ambulatory BP measurements from 151 participants and used them to define three groups according to their dipping status: Dippers ( N = 65), Non-Dippers ( N = 42), and Extreme Dippers ( N = 44). Sociodemographic and anamnestic information was collected, and the State–Trait Anger Expression Inventory was used to assess anger. Results: Analysis of variance evidenced significant higher scores for Trait Anger Temperament and Anger Expression in Extreme Dippers than in both Dippers and Non-Dippers. However, after controlling for confounding variables, there was no significant relationship with trait anger, and only the result concerning the suppression of anger was confirmed. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the analysis of some psychological factors, such as anger, could be necessary to better understand differences in nocturnal BP alterations. Trait anger and suppression of anger may contribute to the description and classification of patients who exhibit a maladaptive dipping phenomenon. However, modifiable (i.e., cigarette consumption) and unmodifiable (i.e., age) risk factors appear to mediate this relationship. Although further studies are necessary to explore this association, these results highlight that some aspects of anger can represent risk factors or markers of maladaptive modulation of the dipping phenomenon.

Keywords: blood pressure; dipping status; anger; ambulatory blood pressure monitor (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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