We assessed the association between anxiety and hypertension in adults via a systematic review/meta-analysis. We searched PubMed, Ovid, and PsycINFO through 27 March 2020 with no language or publication type restrictions and systematically contacted study authors for unpublished information/data. We meta-analysed 59 studies including a total of 4,012,775 participants. Study quality was rated with the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and random-effects analyses were performed. A significant anxiety-hypertension association was found in cross-sectional (OR = 1.37, 95 % CI = 1.21–1.54) and prospective studies (OR = 1.40, 95 % CI = 1.23–1.59). In sensitivity analyses, results were influenced by method of hypertension diagnosis, but not by study quality, method of anxiety diagnosis, study population, and effect size type. In subgroup analyses, study location, in particular country economic status, but not participant age, influenced the results. Longitudinal data and theoretical literature indicate that anxiety may precede hypertension. These findings have important clinical implications for the early detection and treatment of both anxiety and hypertension. Suggestions for future research are discussed.

我们通过系统评价/荟萃分析评估了成人焦虑与高血压之间的关联。我们检索了截至 2020 年 3 月 27 日的 PubMed、Ovid 和 PsycINFO，没有语言或出版物类型限制，并系统地联系研究作者以获取未发表的信息/数据。我们荟萃分析了 59 项研究，包括总共 4,012,775 名参与者。研究质量采用纽卡斯尔-渥太华量表进行评级，并进行了随机效应分析。在横断面研究 (OR = 1.37, 95 % CI = 1.21–1.54) 和前瞻性研究 (OR = 1.40, 95 % CI = 1.23–1.59) 中发现了显着的焦虑-高血压关联。在敏感性分析中，结果受高血压诊断方法的影响，但不受研究质量、焦虑诊断方法、研究人群和效应大小类型的影响。在亚组分析中，研究地点，尤其是国家的经济状况，而不是参与者的年龄，影响了结果。纵向数据和理论文献表明，焦虑可能先于高血压。这些发现对于早期发现和治疗焦虑症和高血压具有重要的临床意义。讨论了对未来研究的建议。