Mental Health and Physical Activity in Hypertensive Patients Attending Family Medicine Outpatient Clinics at Kasr Alainy Hospitals, Egypt

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Family Medicine Resident, Cairo University (MBBCh)

2 Assistant professor of family medicine, Cairo University

3 Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo Egypt

Abstract

Background: The mental health of hypertensive patients is usually under-assessed compared to physical health. The role of physical activity in improving mental status in hypertensive patients is emerging. An adequate level of daily physical activity can improve mental health status and consequently lead to better disease control. Objectives: The study aimed to explore the relationship between physical activity and mental health in hypertensive patients.
Methods: This is a cross-sectional study in which 260 hypertensive patients were interviewed using a systematic random technique using structured questionnaires. The evaluation of their physical activity levels by the global physical assessment questionnaire (GPAQ) and screening for their mental health status by the depression anxiety stress scale 21 (DASS 21) were also included.
Results: Anxiety was the most prevalent disorder among the study participants (73.8%), followed by depression (61.5%) and stress (50.4%). Although 50% of the study participants had sufficient physical activity levels, there was no significant relationship between physical activity status and the frequency of these disorders.
Conclusions: Mental disorders are prevalent among hypertensive patients, whether controlled or not. The occurrence of these disorders was not affected by the physical activity status of the patients—keywords: Hypertension, Mental health, Physical activity.

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