Relation of State and Trait Anxiety to Essential Hypertension

This study used an objective measure of state and trait anxiety to clarify the relationship between level of anxiety and essential hypertension. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was administered to 30 hypertensives and their normotensive spouses. No significant differences were found between the hypertensives and normotensives on either measure of anxiety (state or trait). A significant correlation was noted, however, between the trait-anxiety scores of hypertensives and those of their spouses. The need to examine the role of anxiety in the development versus the maintenance of essential hypertension is discussed.