ANGER EFFECTS ON NIGHT BLOOD PRESSURE (BP)

Introduction: The alterations of the physiological overnight decrease of BP (Dipping) represent a higher cardiovascular risk. Some studies showed that high levels of anger expression predict a smoothing of Dipping. However, other aspects of anger have not been considered, nor it was investigated whether anger is related to an excessive BP decrease. Aim: to investigate these relationships. Methods: One-hundred ninety-nine people were submitted to Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring and completed the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory. According to the overnight BP variation, participants were splitted in three groups: Extreme Dipper (ED; N = 53), Dipper (ED; N = 85), Non-Dipper (ED; N = 61). Individuals with a night decrease of BP higher than 20% were identified as ED; individuals with a night decrease of BP ranged between 10 and 20% were defined as D; those with a night decrease of BP less than 10% were considered as ND. Results: The MANCOVA, considering the Group (ED,D,ND) and Trait Anger (T-Ang), Angry Temperament (T-Ang/T) and Angry Reaction (T-Ang/R), was significant (k6,386 = 0.91; p = 0.008): ED, compared to D, presented higher scores in T-Ang (P\0.05) and they showed higher scores in T-Ang/T compared to both ND (P\0.05) and D (P\0.01). MANCOVA that considered Anger Expression showed only a marginal effect for the Anger Expression-In (p = 0.06) and the Anger Expression Index (p = 0.08). Conclusions: Dysfunctions in themanagement of anger seem related to alterations of theDipping phenomenon.Results of the present study confirm the relationship between ND pattern and Trait-Anger, but they also revealed, for the first time, that this relationship is also present in the ED pattern. These findings confirm and extend the relationship between anger and the Dipping phenomenon, suggesting that a mismanagement of anger could be a cardiovascular risk factor.