May personality traits conduce to essential hypertension?

Abstract

The contribution of personality traits to development of essential hypertension have not still been firmly determined. Such traits as hostility, alexithymia, social defensiveness and neuroticism are the most common suggested dimensions of personality associated with pathogenesis of essential hypertension. The article reviews psychological traits related to essential hypertension. It also provides the results of studies considering the relationship between personality and hypertension and the current knowledge about the pathophysiological mechanisms of this relation.