JPSIM Journal of Pakistan Society of Internal Medicine J Pak Soc Intern Med 2709-8729 2710-0804 Pakistan Society of Internal Medicine 10.70302/jpsim.v6i4.2567 jpsim.v6i4.2567 Original Research Frequency of Psychological and Social Influences of Depression in Patients of Essential Hypertension Awais Syed Ahad ahadawais08@gmail.com * Ibad Nabeel Bukharie Fatima Bilal Muhammad Baig Mirza Saad Ullah Akbar Sadaf Sheikh Zayed Hospital, Lahore *Correspondence: Syed Ahad Awais (ahadawais08@gmail.com) 21 11 2025 2025 6 4 364 367 14 05 2025 11 07 2025 25 07 2025 Copyright © 2025 The Author(s) 2025 The Author(s) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Objective

To determine the frequency of depression in patients with essential hypertension and psychosocial determinates of depression in patients with essential hypertension.

 Methodology

This cross-sectional study was conducted at Psychiatry Department, Sheikh Zayed Hospital, Lahore from 13-11-2023 to 13-05-2024. A total of one hundred and fifty patients having essential hypertension and fulfilling selection criteria were recruited for the study. Patients were evaluated by using Patient Health Questionnaire-9. If the score was ≥10, depression was noted. All determinants including gender, age, education, employment, socioeconomic status, physical activity, smoking and family history of hypertension were also noted. Data was recorded in proforma and analyzed in SPSS version 25.

 Results

The mean age of participants noted was 57.8± 12.23 years, including 46.0% male and 54.0% female. The mean PHQ-9 score was 8.75± 5.58. Out of 150, depression was found in 69 (46.0%) patients, and it was found to be significantly associated with female gender (p = 0.001), lower educational status (p = 0.001), and physical inactivity (p = 0.040). However, no significant association was observed with smoking (p = 0.050) or family history of hypertension (p = 0.240).

 Conclusion

The prevalence of depression is high among hypertensive patients and it is found to be significantly associated with female gender, lower educational status, and physical inactivity. However, no significant association of depression was observed with smoking or a family history of hypertension.

 Keywords Essential Hypertension Depression Psychosocial Determinates Patient Health Questionnaire Ethics Statement

Ethics committee: Ethics Review Committee, Sheikh Zayed Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan. Approval number: 2-TERC/NHRC-SZH/Int-SC/682, dated March 25, 2025.

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