Psychological Stress among Patients with Hypertension in Bhutan
Keywords:
family history, duration of diagnosis, blood pressure control, hypertensionAbstract
Understanding the relationship between psychological stress and blood pressure is a key in helping patients with hypertension control their blood pressure. The objective of this study was to examine the level of psychological stress among patients with hypertension and the differences in psychological stress level by gender, family history of hypertension, blood pressure control, and duration of hypertension. The descriptive design used simple random sampling to recruit 120 patients with hypertension at Jigme Dorji Wangchuk National Referral Hospital in Bhutan. Data were collected using a demographic data questionnaire and a perceived stress scale. Descriptive statistics and t-tests were used to analyze the data.
The results found that the majority (75.83%) of the sample reported moderate levels of psychological stress (x̄ =20.23, SD = 5.58). Only 12.50% of participants reported high psychological stress, and 11.67% reported low stress levels. The mean score of psychological stress was significantly different by duration of hypertension (more vs. less than 60 months [t118 = -4.21, p <.001]), controlled vs. uncontrolled blood pressure (t118 = -2.42, p <.05), and family history vs. no family history of hypertension (t118 = 2.18, p <.05). However, mean stress scores were not significantly different between the males and females (t118 = 1.85, p >.05). In conclusion, interventions for Bhutanese people with hypertension to manage psychological stress should be developed with a sensitivity to duration of diagnosis, family history, and ability to control blood pressure.
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