Coping strategies, depressive symptoms and quality of life in hypertensive patients: Mediational and prospective relations

Abstract

This study examined whether depressive symptoms mediated the association between coping strategies and quality of life (QoL) in a sample of hypertensive patients, and the prospective contribution of depressive symptoms and coping strategies in the prediction of their QoL. One hundred and fifty patients (50% males and 50% females) with a diagnosis of essential hypertension were recruited from a general hospital. Symptoms of depression, coping and QoL measures (global score and dimensions) were collected at baseline. Sixty-three participants completed the QoL questionnaire again one year later (T2). The results indicated that the relations between emotion coping and QoL (global score, satisfaction and social support) were totally mediated by depressive symptoms. The association between emotion coping and well-being was, however, partially mediated by depressive symptoms. Furthermore, only baseline instrumental coping strategies predicted higher levels of QoL (global score, well-being and social support) at T2. Neither emotion coping nor depressive symptoms were significantly associated with prospective QoL. These findings suggest that depressive symptoms may be a mechanism linking the manner in which patients cope with their hypertension and their QoL. They also emphasise the adaptive role played by instrumental coping responses in the management of hypertension in the long term.